What A Wonka Wants
by solitairebbw218
Summary: Charlie is turning 21, and Willy throws a birthday bash no one will ever forget. But Willy is the one who's surprised when he finds himself drawn to a lovely Silver Ticket holding guest....will he have the courage to act on those feelings? Please R & R
1. Chapter 1

**Greetings, all...I was going to wait until I had this story completely written, but being an impatient old lady, I decided to go ahead and start it. This is my first CATCF fan fic...I hope you enjoy it! **

**Prologue**

It was the biggest newsworthy event to hit the small community outside London since the original contest years before…..Charlie Bucket was coming of age.

Very little had been seen or heard of the lucky little poor boy who had found the last of the 5 Wonka's Wonderful Golden Tickets. Since winning the big prize, he had in essence vanished from the public's eye. After the hubbub of the big event had died down, gradually everyone had begun to forget about the skinny little boy and his family, whose leaning, broken down house had vanished one night as if it had never existed. Therefore the world was shocked when some nine years after young Charlie Bucket's dream came true, another contest was announced.

As Willy Wonka's designated apprentice and protege, he had much to learn and learn he did, continuing his education with private tutors and beginning his professional training at the side of his candy making mentor. He had wanted to remain in public school, but after several attempted kidnappings it had been determined that home schooling was the only feasible choice. It was in this manner, under the watchful eyes of his loving parents and benefactor, that Charlie Bucket grew into a rather fine specimen of manhood.

Yes, the eccentric chocolatier's heir was coming of age, and to celebrate, his patron had decided to throw a party….but not just any old ordinary party. Growing up virtually isolated inside the massive candy factory with only his patron, his family, the oompah-loompahs, and tutors for company, Charlie didn't have a great many friends, especially among people his own age. That being the case, Willy Wonka had decided to take it upon himself to throw the young man a birthday party he would not soon forget.

In honor of his protégé's 21st birthday, 100 lucky people were going to be given the opportunity of a lifetime. Those who found one of the precious silver tickets hidden inside Wonka's chocolate bars worldwide would be honored guests at a masquerade birthday ball at Willy Wonka's chocolate factory, a place as mysterious as the man himself. Noone was ever seen entering or leaving the factory, other than the delivery trucks which traveled at regular intervals between the massive iron gates. What went on behind those gates was the question that the world was dying to know….

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	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 1: The Contest & A Battle of Wills**

"Just another publicity stunt, I'd wager." Sarah's father grumbled as he snapped his newspaper with irritation, which brushed against his coffee cup and sloshed a few drops onto the saucer below. "Sales were probably slumping so he figured he'd pull the same shim-sham as before. I don't even care to guess how his profit margin soared after that last contest of his."

Sarah was tempted to remind her father that Willy Wonka was a billionaire many times over and was hardly in a position to need to resort to such trickery, but decided it wasn't worth getting into an argument over. Her father was a very opinionated man, and tended to take anyone disagreeing with him as a personal affront, especially if it was a member of his own family. So she kept her thoughts to herself as she finished her cold cereal.

Flipping on the small tv at the end of the counter, Sarah wasn't at all surprised to see that all the major networks headline story was Wonka's new contest. Seven tickets had already been discovered around the world….Paris, Tokyo, Chicago, IL, London, San Francisco, CA, Cairo, and some obscure small town in the state of Arkansas in the Southern US. Sarah listened with half an ear as the pretty newscaster revealed details about the contest, and then with her full attention as pictures of the two men appeared.

"World famous candy making genius Willy Wonka stunned the world yesterday when he announced that he would be opening his factory gates to the public for an unprecedented second time in less than a decade. A birthday celebration is planned to honor Charlie Bucket, who outwitted and outmaneuvered four other contestants 9 years ago to win the coveted position as heir to Wonka's factory and fortune. Chocolate lovers everywhere are scrambling to candy stores for a chance at one of 100 silver tickets hidden in Wonka bars. The masquerade ball is scheduled for December 5th, leaving only 3 weeks for potential attendees to locate their silver tickets!" At that moment, a paper was handed to the announcer, and she turned back to the camera with a smile. "This just in, the 8th silver ticket was found in Seattle, WA by…."

Sarah tuned out the woman's too perky voice and turned her focus onto the two pictures on the left of the screen. The picture of Charlie was fairly recent, showing a cheerful young man with short brown hair, inquisitive blue eyes above rosy cheeks with just a hint of freckles, and an engaging smile. Footnotes below the picture stated that the photo had been taken at one of the half dozen charity events that Willy Wonka had deemed worthy of sending a representative to, rather than just an impersonal check. Charlie Bucket was indeed a rather handsome young man, but it was the photo below it that drew her eye.

The photo had been taken with a telephoto lens, and was much older than the photo of Charlie, but Sarah recognized the outfit he wore as the one he had been wearing the day the factor had opened for the 5 lucky contest winners. She herself had been fortunate enough to have a friend who lived near the factory, and had wrangled a sleepover invite the night before, so had been present for the great event. She sighed softly, her eyes becoming unfocused as she recalled her first sight of the famous candy man on that cold winter's day….

From the uppermost edge of his elegant black top hat to the soles of his shiny high heeled boots, Willy Wonka was colorful to say the least. Very little of his face could be seen beyond the huge, bug-eyes sunglasses he had worn, but what was visible was extremely pale. He had been smiling, or rather smirking, his strangely red lips bearing an almost "I know something you don't know" expression that had triggered a weird sensation in the pit of her stomach. His dark hair was cut in a smooth, chin length pageboy style, a look that on any other man would have been considered effeminate, but suited him perfectly. His clothing was remarkable in that they were not only made of sensuous fabrics in unusual colors---plum velvet, lavender leather, paisley silk, and rich brocade---but that they were of Victorian, turn of the century design. The combination had the dual effect of making him appear decidedly eccentric, while at the same time making those around him seem remarkably underdressed. Sarah smiled softly to herself at the memory….for some reason, the recollection of his appearance reminded her somewhat of the description of Lestat, the famously vain blood drinker and her favorite figure from Anne Rice's Interview with a Vampire.

Sarah was pulled from her reverie by her father clearing his throat as he finally folded the paper, setting it aside and turning his attention toward his only child, home for the weekend from school.

"So, Sarah, everything going o.k. with your classes?" Sarah met her fathers eyes and smiled. She was a freshman at a small women's college on the outskirts of London, where she was majoring in Accounting. To her father's delight, she had proven to have a head for math in her regular school years, and had not protested with his plan for her to get a degree and join his accounting firm. Whether or not she would continue to follow that plan was still up in the air, but for now she was content to get her required credits out of the way while she made up her mind what to do with her life. After all, it's not as if she had any other outstanding marketable talents….except for making probably the best darn fudge on the planet, according to her friends anyway.

"Fine, dad….I haven't had any problems so far, and as of the end of term I was still maintaining my 3.8 GPA. I've been it a great deal of thought, and I've decided that I want to try out for the Volleyball team for next term…I need something to keep me fit before my backside gets too wide to fit into the desk."

Her father frowned at her, his voice expressing his disapproval of her plan. "I don't think you should be getting involved in activities that will distract you from your studies, Sarah….after all, there will be lots of practices and then the games and such. I'm not spending my hard earned money sending you to University just so you can play around…why not join a gym instead?"

"Oh, for heaven's sake, leave off nagging the girl, Arthur!" Sarah's mother stepped lightly into the kitchen, plopping down a bag of groceries before shrugging off her coat and hanging it on the rack by the door. Leaning down, she smooched her daughter fondly on the cheek and noticed the slight bags and dark circles beneath her daughters slightly reddened eyes. "Morning sleepyhead…..rough night? You came in rather late last evening."

"Mm-hmm" Sarah grinned behind her raised coffee cup, deciding to have a little fun. "Jen invited me to go clubbing with her last night….sounded like loads of fun." At the look of horror on her father's face, she quickly continued. "Unfortunately I had to decline the invitation….I wound up spending the entire evening wrapped up with my latest squeeze…advanced calculus. Quite a thrilling Friday evening for a 19 year old."

Her father's face had turned an ugly shade of red, warning her that he was working up a head of steam for one of his famous tirades, and she silently cursed herself for opening her big mouth. As she suspected, the explosion was not long in coming.

"If I thought for one minute that you were serious and not taking advantage of this opportunity we've given you, you'd not find it such a laughing matter, missy! You'd find yourself hard pressed to make rent on fast food wages, Sarah, for you'd not receive anything more from us! You've got a promising future ahead of you in accounting, and no daughter of mine is going to waste her time going to clubs and tossing a ball around when she should be focusing on getting an education, and that's an end to the subject. Margie, more coffee, please." His wife complied, a pinched look on her face that her husband chose to ignore.

Sarah had her father's temper, although she had never had the courage to show it to the man himself, at least until now. "So that's it, then? You're telling me I'm not to try out for the team and that I'm to be chained to my books day and night?"

Her father looked surprised at her outburst, but answered her levelly. "I'm saying that you need to get your priorities straight, Sarah…..you're a bright girl but you act so like a child sometimes. It's time you took your future seriously and start acting like a grown up."

Sarah met his gaze with a solemn one of her own as she rose from her seat. "I graduated my levels with honors, I work part time while attending classes and still maintain a GPA in the top 5 of my class, Dad….how much more serious about my future do I have to be before you are satisfied?" With that she walked over and left a kiss on her mother's damp cheek before retrieving her sweater and purse as she went out the door, closing it quietly behind her.

Halfway to her car, she stopped up short as thoughts and emotions rampaged through her overwhelmed brain. Anger, fear, pain, sorrow, anger again, and finally indignation swept over her and it was then that something inside her clicked. Her father wanted her to take her life seriously….well, she would do the exact opposite. She would do something outrageous, something completely frivolous that would cause her father to realize that she was her own person, not some marionette he could control. She needed to do something that would make a statement, but not cause everyone to think she had completely lost her mind.

She could get a nose ring or tongue piercing…..(_eeew…gross, not to mention mega painful!…nope, not gonna happen..)_

She could cut her hair…(_naah…not bold enough, plus she'd worked so hard to grow it..) _or maybe add some color stripes…(_ugh…too tacky and overdone)_

She could quit school and join the Peace Corps…(_hmmmph……a noble thought, but I don't think I could live in a third world country where flush toilets and telephones are considered major luxuries…uh-uh…sorry, try again…)_

Suddenly, a lightbulb went off inside her head, and she laughed out loud. It was outrageous, it was permanent, it was the most un-serious and unlike her thing she could ever do, and there wouldn't be a darn thing her father could do to prevent it about it because she was of age. And it was all perfectly legal.

She was going to get a special tattoo on a certain part of her anatomy, and then send a picture of it along with a fantasy story into a popular men's magazine, using her real name…just for the hell of it. (_Let Dad answer questions from his men friends about THAT particular Penthouse Forum entry!)_

But first she was going hunting…….for a Wonka's Silver Ticket.


	3. Chapter 3

Greetings, all, and thanks for taking the time to read this little story of mine…hope you enjoy it, and even if you don't, would you mind letting me know what you think about it?

_Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters written by the author of CATCF and am receiving no type of monetary compensation for writing this, so don't sue me…I'm too broke to pay attention anyway……grin_

_P.S. I'll give you a muffin if you can guess what the tattoo is of…wink_

_Anyway, here's the next chapter…short and sweet, just like me!_

**Chapter 2: Ladies and Gentlemen, We Have A Winner!**

She couldn't believe she'd actually done it.

Sarah had actually gotten up the courage and marched into the nearest reputable tattoo parlor, bared her derriere to a perfect stranger and had the unique design etched permanently on the skin of her backside. She couldn't help but wince a little when she had risen from the table and seen the final product, but the grin she had given the tattoo artist was one of genuine appreciation. _What's done is done.._she thought to herself…_I just wish my ass wouldn't hurt so bad for the next week or so…_

Downing several ibuprofin for the pain, she headed to work, where she sat down gingerly on the stool behind the counter. Thankfully her part time job at the sandwich shop required her to spend most of her shift on her feet, and for once she was supremely grateful. Several co-workers had noticed her wincing when she sat down, and she couldn't help but smile slyly when she told them she had finally broken down and gotten a tat. Since several of them sported body art of their own, they were exceedingly curious as to what design she had chosen, but she remained tight lipped, only saying that it wouldn't make much sense to anyone but one living soul on the planet, and she wasn't naming any names.

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Meanwhile, like other hopeful chocolate lovers around the world, Sarah had begun buying Wonka bars in search of one of the prized silver tickets. She kept up with the papers and news reports and had learned that contrary to her prior belief, not all the tickets had been released all at once, but had been staggered over a weeks time to give the average person a better chance of being a winner. It was also revealed that each winning ticket holder would go home with a truckload of Wonka's finest chocolates as a sweet reward.

It was no surprise that the demand for the candy far exceeded the supply, and the black market for the chocolate was raking in money hand over fist. Fortunately, a fellow student in Sarah's dormitory happened to work in a sweet shop, and managed to buy a box of 24 Wonka's Whipple Scrumptious Fudgemallow Delight Bars. Despite her eagerness, Sarah didn't do like most would be winners and rips the packaging in a frenzy. She instead limited herself to 2 bars a day, and refused to peek under the remaining wrappers.

After the initial first day total of 9 winners, there were on average 3 to 4 tickets found all over the globe, and as the number of available tickets dwindled, the more frenzied the search became. People were going so far as to offer to exchange a kidney for a case of chocolate bars, and bids on eBay were going into the thousdands. It was 8 days before the masquerade ball that Sarah ripped open her 2nd bar of the day and found the 78th Silver Ticket.

At first she thought she was imagining things, and for the next few moments she experienced the exact same sensations and emotions young Charlie Bucket had---shock and disbelief, followed by hope, exhilaration and utter euphoria. Her hands were trembling noticeably as she finishing tearing the wrapper, and she absent-mindedly began nibbling on the delicious chocolate bar as she read the embossed silver ticket.

_CONGRATULATIONS_

**_You, the lucky holder of this Wonka's Silver Ticket, are cordially invited to be my guest at a Masquerade Ball Birthday Celebration for Mr. Charlie Bucket, in honor of his 21st Birthday. Please present this ticket at the gates of the Wonka Chocolate Factory at 8:00 pm on Saturday, the 5th of December._**

_**R.S.V.P. **_

_**(see reverse side)**_

_**Transportation will be provided**_

_**P.S. Please arrive in costume and Ready for the dance of a lifetime!**_

_**Sincerely,**_

_**Your future host**_

_**Willy Wonka**_

Sarah clutched the shining prize to her chest as she spun around in circles, picturing herself waltzing around a grand ballroom. Then it hit her….the dilemma that had probably been thought of a million times before by a million girls in the same situation, wailing the same 5 word question….

"_WHAT AM I GONNA WEAR_?"

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	4. Chapter 4

_Hello There! Welcome back to this little story which has been hammering around inside my head, making me neglect my housework and family until it works its way out of my aching head. Seriously. Anyway, this is a nice long chapter, and hopefully will calm the voices in my head for at least a short time. eh-heh...I apologize for any spelling errors, but I was too tired after writing this by hand and then typing it in to do any major spell-checking.  
_

_Disclaimer: (doncha just hate this darn things!) I don't own any characters from D.R.'s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory; only the plot line and characters I have invented for this fan fiction, which I make up in my sad, sick widdle brain. I am making no profit from this—it is just an effort to save my sanity._

_That being said, enjoy!_

**Chapter 3: Get Me To The Ball On Time!**

The next several days went by in a blur as Sarah got caught up in the excitement. She immediately called the RSVP number on the back of the ticket, giving the operator on the other end her name and the embossed bar code on request. A moment later she was put on hold, and she nearly laughed aloud as the mellow voice of Sammy Davis Jr. singing Candyman came over the line. Less than a minute later, another voice came on the line and congratulated her warmly. After requesting her address, she was told that a limousine would arrive at 7:30 on the night of the ball to deliver her to her destination.

The next call she made started out joyful and ended on a sour note. Her mother was absolutely thrilled when she heard the news of Sarah's lucky find; her father, practical as always, had other ideas about what she should do with her prize, and wasn't hesitant in sharing them.

"Really, Sarah, don't you think it would be better to sell it and use the money to get something you really need instead of going to some silly party? With what they're going for you could replace your car, buy a good computer, and cover your own books and expenses for quite some time."

Her mother, who was firmly behind her daughter, tried to intervene but with little success. "Arthur, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity---it's not about the money! She's the one who found the ticket---let her do what she pleases with it and stop hounding her about it. She's an adult, after all."

"Fine then….if she's an adult, let her pay her own expenses then. She'd have a tidy sum if she'd just do as I say and sell the bloody thing…what the blazes would she do with a truckload of chocolate anyhow?"

She listened to her parents argue back and forth on the homes two extensions for a while before ending the call, citing a headache which for once wasn't feigned. She was distressed and hurt by her father's anger and disapproval, but her emotions made her even more determined to go to that birthday celebration and have a great time. Her decision wasn't just based on the fact that going to the ball would irritate her father; she was also as curious as the proverbial cat to learn more about the famous chocolatier and his protégé.

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Her calling the RSVP line must have been released to the public, because less than an hour after the disastrous call to her parents, the phone began to ring and didn't stop for hours. The first few calls were from newspapers and even a couple of radio stations, seeking information, voice cuts and quotes from the newest ticket holder. Interspersed with those calls were outrageous offers to buy the ticket, most of which concluded with comments of where she could stick her truckload of chocolate when she calmly turned them down flat. While anatomically impossible, picturing the suggested actions taking place on some of the less likeable of her acquaintances proved highly amusing.

She was soon made aware by her annoyed floor mates that several local TV stations had brought vans that were currently parked in front of their dormitory, waiting for her to emerge for interviews. Dismayed by this turn of events, Sarah realized that if she dawdled any longer, she was going to be late for work. Hustling into her uniform, she calmly headed out the door, her ponytail bobbing with each step beneath her visor. She was quickly approached by a news crew, and hesitantly answered their questions as best she could. Towards the end of the interview, she was actually starting to enjoy the attention when she was asked how she liked Wonka's chocolate. She thought about it for a moment before answering the question truthfully with a cheeky grin and sparkling eyes. "I can't honestly say that it is better than sex, but I would definitely rate it a very close second!"

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Later that evening…… 

On opposite sides of London, two men were watching the evening news.

The first was seated at a local pub, and nearly choked to death on his glass of Guiness when he heard his daughter talk about her sex life on national television……

On the other side of town, the other man giggled so hard at her words that he spewed hot cocoa all over his black velvet smoking jacket and paisley silk pajama bottoms. Rising from his quadruple-sized purple bean bag chair, he called for one of his pint-sized attendants to clean up his dropped mug of the chocolate beverage before turning off the tv, and retiring to bed, grinning ear to ear and actually starting to look forward to hosting the upcoming ball…..

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Finding just the right costume to wear to the big event was the next big dilemma Sarah had to face. Over the next few days she visited several nearby costume shops, but hadn't yet spotted a costume that caught her eye. She was just about to break down and go back to her old Dorothy costume she had worn in her senior year in the school production of The Wizard of Oz when her best friend and roommate Jen came up with a great idea.

"Y'know Sar, I might not have mentioned it before, but you bear a striking resemblence to Jennifer Connelly---why not go as Sarah from the movie Labyrinth? I can just picture you in a poufy white dress like the one she wore in that ballroom scene after she ate the spelled peach? That would be awesome, and definitely one of a kind at the masquerade."

Going to the cabinet beneath their shared dorm room's 19 inch tv and dvd player, she grabbed Jen's collectors edition of the 1986 Jim Henson film. She removed the insert booklet and found what she was looking for. The dress the young actress wore was indeed stunning and ideal for her purpose, and at 5'4 and 135, she knew she could carry it off well. Then reality set in and set her hopes to the basement. Doing some quick figuring in her mental bankbook, she figured that if she ate at work and cut out all unnecessary spending for a long while, she had approximately $500 to get her dress, accessories, and hair done. Her heart sank as she realized that a dress so elaborate was way out of her budget. She was about to relate the news to Jen when there was a knock at their door. The two young women were both stunned when they opened the door to see Sarah's mother smiling at them, waiting to be invited in.

"Mom, what are you doing here? Is everything ok….something wrong with Dad?" Sarah's voice was full of alarm….her mom was not the kind of person to show up unannounced.

"Sweetheart, there's been something wrong with your father for years, but for some reason, I can't quite bring myself to give up on him just yet." Her mother's warm laughter was met with giggles from both younger women. Smiling at her daughter and the girl she considered a 2nd daughter as well, she informed them that all was well in the Shawe household. "Actually, I'm here to see if that free spirited daughter of mine had come up with a costume for the big to-do at the factory yet."

Sarah sighed, her shoulders slumping in defeat. "Well, Jen came up with a smashing idea, but there's just no way. It's doubtful that any costume shop would carry something like this.." showing her mom the picture, "And there's no way I can afford to buy it and still feed myself."

Her mother grew serious for a moment. "That's what I suspected might happen, and that's why I wanted to come today and give you this." She opened her purse and handed her daughter an envelope. At her mother's nod of encouragement, Sarah tore it open to find that it was stuffed with what looked like over $1000 in $20 and $50 bills. Stunned at the generous gift, she looked up to find her mother beaming at her, and flew into her arms hugging her fiercely.

"Darling, you look positively flummoxed! Before you ask, your father doesn't know anything about this, and I don't intend to tell him about it either. This is just a smidgen of the inheritance from your Aunt Priscilla. She couldn't stand Arthur's tight-waddedness regarding finances, so she her fortune to me with the strict instructions that it was to be used only frivolous purposes. I don't agree with the way your father has behaved about this whole ticket thing, so I thought I'd do this in honor of Priscilla…and as my own personal rebellion, I might add."

"Thank you, Mum,…I can't say how much this means to me."

"Just knowing that you'll be the prettiest girl at the ball this weekend is thanks enough, darling. Now, you'd best get cracking, Cinderella….time is short, and you've lots to do.

"I don't even know where to start….you don't find dresses like this at the local boutiques."

Margaret Shawe smiled once more, revealing once more the delicious dimples that had caught her husband's eye many years ago. "Why, to the place every girl goes to find the perfect dress for the most important day of her life….a bridal shop, of course!"

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Four days later, Sarah stood in the lobby of her dorm, surrounded by several excited friends and her mother, who was busily snapping photos of her in her dream gown.

The fantasy gown had cost nearly all of the money in the envelope her mother had given her, but it was worth every penny. It was off the shoulder, with a gentle dip that revealed more than a hint of cleavage. The gown's sleeves were large and puffy from shoulder to elbow, and were made of layers of sheer netting with ribbons and appliques. The sleeves from elbow to wrist were of skin tight satin, which came to a point over her hands. The bodice itself, just like the one in the movie, was of satin heavily encrusted with sequins, pearls and appliques, and came to a point at the front over the layers of her hooped and crinolined tulle skirts. She wore her own waterfall crystal earrings, and around her neck she wore an antique rhinestone necklace Jen's grandmother had loaned her for the occasion. The beautician had done an amazing job recreating the hairstyle Jennifer Connelly had worn, and when she had finally looked at herself in the mirror, she had to admit that there was a definite resemblance between herself and the young actress.

As her mother fussed with her gown and the camera, Sarah was suddenly swept back 3 years to the night of her Senior Prom, and smiled as she reminisced about that special evening. That night was special in that she had planned to bid farewell to her virginity, but fate had intervened when her date had passed out after drinking too many glasses of spiked punch. Since then, she hadn't found anyone of the opposite sex worthy of spending time with, in or out of the sack.

Her attention was drawn to the front doors as the squeals of her classmates alerted her to her ride's arrival. She noted with amusement that the long white limousine with its silver trim matched perfectly with her gown. Taking a deep breath and squeezing Jen's hand for courage, she pulled the hood on her faux-ermine trimmed white velvet cloak, and grasped her masque and drawstring pouch before heading out the towards the car. "Break a leg" Jen shouted out laughingly as Sarah stepped out into the cold December night.

The snow, which had been falling heavily all day long, blanketing everything in sight, had slowed to a fall of soft, lazy flakes with drifted down in slow motion. Sarah accepted the chauffer's hand into the limo, and carefully arranged her dress so it wouldn't be crushed on the ride to the factory. She sat back and closed her eyes, sighed deeply and then smiled, a modern day Cinderella ready to dance the night away…


	5. Chapter 5

_Greetings, Friends! It's party time at the Wonka Chocolate Factory, and our Sarah is about to embark on a real adventure! I apologize if the French translations aren't perfect—I don't speak the language and am not really good at using translation websites yet…lol. Also, this chapter does have a few elements of a song fic in it, because this IS a ballroom scene, but I tried not to overdo it. If you would, please R & R and let me know what you think_.

_As always, I do not own any characters created by R. Dahl, and am not making any profit off of this piece of fiction. The only characters I own are the ones I make up in my poor widdle brain……so please, noooo touchie!_

_Enjoy!_

**Chapter 4: Party Time At The Factory**

_Ugh……less than halfway through this shindig and I'm already bored to tears……_

Sarah looked around the brightly lit ballroom with a sigh, beginning to wish she hadn't been so stubborn and had sold the darn silver ticket to the highest bidder. Contrary to what she had expected, so far the birthday party of the century had been, well, to put it bluntly, a resounding flop. Oh, the 10 piece orchestra was tolerable, the edibles were delicious, especially the large display of various chocolates, and the lighted champagne fountain was a nice touch. It was the utterly refined atmosphere in the ballroom which was the real let down. It had more of the "art gallery opening" feeling than a young man's birthday celebration.

After a few brief attempts at making conversation with the other guests, Sarah used the excuse of her voluminous skirts to commandeer one of the low, padded benches along one wall of the ballroom all for her own use. Scanning the room, she saw a wide variety of costumes, and was glad she hadn't gone with Dorothy when she saw at least two of them in the crowd. She did find one thing rather interesting about the crowd attending the birthday gala; they all appeared to be between 18 and 55—no children or elderly among the winning ticket holders. The other thing of interest she noted was the posting of gentlemen in tuxedos and ladies in black and white patterned gowns, all wearing half black/half white masquerade masks. Part of the entertainment, perhaps, or hired dancers to occupy the wallflowers? Sarah speculated that perhaps Wonka himself had decided that extra security was needed for such an important event. Stifling a sigh of boredom, her mind drifted back to the interesting meeting she had had with the party's hosts earlier in the evening.

After emerging from the limousine, Sarah had walked down the wide canopied red carpet to the center door of the triple entryway. A short little man dressed in an odd sort of livery had taken her ticket and checked her off the list on his PDA before directing her to the ballroom.

The host of the gala and the birthday boy himself were standing side by side at the bottom of the stairs, waiting to greet the incoming guests. Sarah had felt herself flush slightly behind her mask on a stick as she saw their eyes widen as she gracefully descended the steps before them. To her surprise, it was Willy Wonka who spoke first, making no attempt to greet her physically as he maintained his grip with both hands on his candy sprinkle filled cane in front of him.

"My, My, My, aren't you just a peach?" Her host looked quite regal this evening in Royal blue velvet jacket, fuchsia leather gloves, tight gray trousers tucked into shiny, calf length heeled boots, white ruffled shirt and top hat, his legendary "W" diamond pin gleaming at his throat. She detected a glint of humor in his eyes, which peered at her from behind violet John Lennon-style lenses, and she realized from the fruit reference that he recognized her costume's origins. Feeling confident, she lowered her mask and answered him with the first thing that came to mind.

"If you're saying that I look good enough to eat, I thank you for the compliment. You are looking rather divine yourself, as I'm sure you already know. But please, don't tell His Highness I said so…..Jareth has a tendency to throw his balls at any man I dare to flirt with." With a brilliant smile, she turned to face Charlie Bucket, missing the wide grin that crossed her host's face at her witty comeback.

The Guest of Honor was elegantly decked out as The Phantom Of The Opera, complete with black leather gloves, cape and elegant evening wear, his hair smoothed back with brilliantine. His eyes glowed from behind his white half mask as he snatched up her hand gallantly and raised it to his lips, kissing her knuckles in a romantic gesture.

"_Dites-si vous plait moi que vous avez laissé ce bellâtre Raoul et êtes revenu pour être ma jeune mariée vivante, ma belle Christine !_" (Please tell me you've left that fop Raoul and have come back to be my living bride, my beautiful Christine!)

Surprised and amused at his embracing his role of the French opera house ghost so thoroughly, Sarah decided to play along. "_Désolé, le garçon d'anniversaire, mais moi chantent comme un crapaud et je déteste absolument l'opéra. J'ai peur que vous soyez hors de la chance, M. Phantom._" ( Sorry, birthday boy, but I sing like a toad and I absolutely detest opera. I'm afraid you're out of luck, Mr. Phantom.)

Charlie pouted, trying to look severe but failing miserably at that, broke into a wide grin. " Ah, well….looks like I am doomed to spend eternity in the darkness of my solitude._ Enchanté, Mlle _?"

"Shawe, Sarah Shaw. Tell you what though, …If it will cheer you up, I'll save you a dance, as long as you promise it will involve no trap doors or punjab lassooing."

His smile broke into an actual guffaw of laughter, which drew the attention of nearby guests. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Shawe. You speak French like a true Parisian…have you spent time on the Continent?"

Sarah smiled. "No, just several years in the classroom with a very exacting teacher. I never dreamed it would come in handy." With a gentle squeeze and a smile, she removed her hand from his and moved away, leaving the two men to savor the delicious fragrance of her lavender-vanilla perfume.

Charlie looked over at his mentor to see him gazing after Sarah as well. "Now that" gesturing at the retreating figure in white as she moved toward the buffet table "just might make putting up with this evening's tomfoolery worth while."

"My boy, you may be on to something, indeed." Willy stared off into space for a moment, a sly grin on his face as delicious thoughts of what he'd like to do with a certain young woman behind closed doors crossed his mind. _Succulent, sweet and perfectly ripe…uh-huh, I'd say she's most definitely good enough to eat…_' With a sigh, Willy shook himself before turning to greet the newest arrival.

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Sarah realized that she had been day dreaming, and she came back to the present with a start. At the moment the ballroom was about as lively as a morgue as people milled about looking supremely bored. Kicking her feet, Sarah examined the sequined appliques on her satin dancing slippers and wondered if she would even get scuff marks on them. Other than meeting the hosts, the event had been lamentably tame—not at all what one would expect from the world's greatest candy maker who was notorious for his eccentric behavior. After all---who had heard of a ball without dancing?

As if someone had heard her thoughts, the lighting above their heads went out suddenly, and a wide spotlight shone down on the landing of a large flight of stairs opposite the ballroom entryway. Their host and the guest of honor appeared as a large, obviously fake two layer cake with the number 21 in foot high letters atop it was wheeled out from a set of double doors. The orchestra began playing Happy Birthday as balloons and confetti drifted down from nets on the ceiling, and then the top of the cake exploded, showering everyone with glitter and streamers. A microphone appeared in their host's hand seemingly out of nowhere, and Willy used it to address the clapping and hooting guests.

"I want to thank each of you for travelling from all parts of the world to help me honor this young man on his 21st birthday. I have been privileged to have had played some small part.." the crowd chuckled.. "in his upbringing, and I am honored to have such a fine young man at my side to continue the Wonka chocolate legacy. That being said, I say let's cut out all this formal stuff and get the real party started, kay?"

With that, he tossed the microphone away and all the lights went out at once and a large mirrored disco ball dropped from a whole in the ceiling, sending fragments of light everywhere. Panels flipped in the pillars around the room, revealing spinning octopus setups and flashing lighted that filled the room with random rainbow light patterns in time with La Bouche's Sweet Dreams, the base heavy techno music thudding into her brain.

_Sweet Dreams of Rhythm and Dancing_

_Sweet Dreams of Passion Through The Night_

_Sweet Dreams are Taking Over_

_Sweet Dreams of Dancing Through The Night_

Before the first chorus was over, the floor was filled with twisting, gyrating bodies. Sarah couldn't stop her feet from tapping to the music, but she made no move to join the dancers on the marble dance floor, preferring to observe for a while rather than participate. As the music switched tempo's to Evanescence's Bring Me To Life, she was approached by two polite young men who accepted her smiling refusal to dance with grace. It was during the third song of the set that the drunk who couldn't understand that no meant no spied her and honed in his target as Mr. Vain by Culture Beat throbbed on….

…_.I know what I want and I want it now,_

_I want you, cause I'm Mr. Vain…._

Wearing a black Zorro costume that did nothing to disguise his middle age paunch, his dark eyes had the semi-glazed look of a man well on his way to being totally plastered as he grasped her hand and pulled her off her bench and onto the dance floor. "Hey….I'm Steve."

Sarah pulled back, freeing her arm. "Hi, I'm not interested, thanks anyway." She started back toward her bench, only to have him catch at her again. "Aw, come on now….just one dance?"

His deep Texas drawl grated on her nerves like fingernails on a blackboard. "No thank you….these new shoes are killing me and I don't feel like dancing right now. There's plenty of other ladies who I am sure would love to dance." She stepped back but he unfortunately followed, slipping an arm around her waist, his alcohol-laden breath warm against her neck as he spoke loudly over the pulsing music.

"Honey, I'd be happy to sweep you off your feet, cause you are P.H.A.T. phat….Mmmmm, Mmmmmm. Mmmmmmm, God, you look so innocent and yet so sexy in that dress that I just want to throw you down and make passionate love to you right here and now."

Something inside Sarah snapped. "You know, you're pretty phat too…pathetic, horny and trying my patience. Now, take your pole and line somewhere else, cause this fish isn't biting." She half shouted in his ear, pushing against him with genuine fear for her safety as she saw his expression change from teasing to irate.

Before she could take any other action, two of the masquerade mask wearing men appeared behind the drunken Texan and removed his unwelcome presence from her side. She sighed with relief, but was taken aback as a gloved hand slipped into hers from the other side. Startled, she turned to find her host looking down at her sardonically from over the rims of his violet-lenses.

"I believe this is my dance…."

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**I know, I know….baaaaad Soli for leaving you with a cliff-hanger. Never fear, tho….much more ballroom action coming up in the next chapter!**


	6. Chapter 6

_Greetings again! First I want to say thanks to the lovely people who have reviewed this story, and I've been thoroughly chastised for leaving you all with that mean cliff-hanger. You wanted to have Willy and Sarah dance, and you shall get your wish this chapter. This again has some aspects of a song fic, as it is taking place during a dance in a ballroom, but I tried to limit it as much as possible. I also don't know a whole lot about ballroom or salsa dancing, so pardon my ignorance. This chapter is also very short, but I hope you see what I attempted to accomplish in the scene._

_Disclaimer: I do not own any characters created by R.Dahl or CATCF; just my original characters and the plot line. I am not receiving any compensation for writing this fan fiction._

_Enjoy, and please Review if you like what you read, or even if you don't!_

**Chapter 5: Dancing with Destiny…..**

Sarah looked down at her hand clasped in his warm leather-clad one, then looked back up at him, tilted her head slightly as she spoke. "I don't recall you asking me for a dance, Mr. Wonka."

"Y'know, now that you mention it…..I didn't. Remind me to do that later, kay? C'mon!"

Sarah didn't have time to do more than blink before Willy swept her out onto the middle of the dance floor. The techno dance music wound down and was replaced by a Latin beat and acoustic guitar, which she recognized as a tune called Bailamos. Sarah panicked as Willy placed his hand on her waist and interlaced his right hand with her left one. "I don't know how to salsa!" she pleaded, to which he smirked and said calmly "Lesson one….shut up and hold on!"

_Tonight we dance_

_I lay my life in your hands_

_We take the floor_

_Nothing is forbidden anymore_

_Don't let the world in outside_

_Don't let a moment go by_

_Nothing can stop us tonight_

_Bailamos, let the rhythm take you over_

_Bailamos, te quiero amor mio_

_Bailamos wanna live this night forever_

_Bailamos te quiero amor mio te quiero_

For the first minute or so, no words were spoken as he guided her masterfully through the steps of the dance. How she managed not to trip over her gown or stopped herself from looking for her feet she never knew, but with Willy leading her their movements looked effortless. She finally broke the silence with a shaky chuckle and grin. "Ok, lesson one mastered, oh wise teacher….dare I ask for lesson # 2?"

His smile momentarily dazzled her before he answered. "Relax and trust me."

Her eyes grew wide as he suddenly spun her away from him without releasing her hand, and brought her back again, this time with her back pressed against his chest. His left hand covered hers and rested it against her stomach, while his right hand drew hers up over her right shoulder. They grooved together, his steps guiding hers in a dance that was both teasing and seductive. His hand guided hers from just below her breast down to her hip, and she could feel his warm breath on the back of her neck as they brushed against each other. Sarah wondered if he could feel how fast her heart was racing inside her satin gown, and she knew the flush on her cheeks wasn't just from the exertion of the dance. He suddenly swung her around to face him, and as their eyes met there was no doubt in her mind whatsoever that he knew exactly how their close proximity during the dance was affecting her. This almost caused Sarah to stumble, and Willy suddenly waggled his eyebrows in a comical "hehehehe Who's Your Daddy" macho kind of way, easing most of the tension between them, but not all. She followed along matching him step for step for a few minutes and repeating the spin out moves before he whispered loudly "Hold on—big finish!" Grasping one of her hands and holding it high, he caught her around the waist and spun her repeatedly in place like a ballerina, then jerked her back into his arms for a low dip, her ribbon edged curls brushing the floor.

Breathless and dizzy, she blinked rapidly as his face danced inches above hers for what seemed like an endless moment before the amused voice of his protégé snapped her back to reality.

"Damn, Willy….she'll really want to dance with us normal guys now…showoff!"

With a chuckle, Willy gracefully pulled Sarah back into a standing position as she continued to try and calm her racing heart. Not breaking eye contact with her, he gallantly placed a kiss on her knuckles, tipped his hat with a charming smile and wink, murmuring "A pleasure, Miss Shawe." before stepping back and vanishing into the crowd on the dance floor.

Sarah just stood there, a bemused expression on her face as she looked at the spot where she had last seen him. Charlie observed her and sighed deeply, a resigned smile touching his lips as he waved his hand in front of her face. Sarah startled at the motion and blushed prettily, turning back towards her companion. "I'm sorry, did you say something?"

Charlie just laughed and shook his head, the action unnerving due to the presence of his white half mask. "No, Miss Shawe….I was just having a bit of fun at your expense. You seem quite enthusiastic out on the dance floor a moment ago."

Sarah smiled. "Well, it is hard not to be enthusiastic when dancing with someone who is as…..spirited…as Mr. Wonka. He literally took my breath away, even though I have two left feet!"

As if on cue, the music tempo switched to a slow number by Boys II Men, a song perfect for couples dancing. Charlie sighed and tried to look pitiful, tilting his head and pooching out his bottom lip in an adorable pouting gesture. "I doubt you could ever be anything less than graceful, Miss Shawe. I guess that now you've danced with Fred Astaire, you won't want to dance with a simple clubfooted hoofer like me."

Sarah laughed heartily, her eyes sparkling as bright as the disco lights above them. "Only if you call me Sarah from now on. A promise is a promise, _M. le Phantom_…..so lead on! "

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	7. Chapter 7

_Hello, faithful readers! I know its been a while, but hopefully you'll find that your patience has been rewarded with this latest chapter. As our characters are at a ball, there will be some elements of a songfic/dance at the end of the chapter, so those of you who liked what Willy and Sarah did the first time they took the floor, you'll definitely like what's in store for you! There are some funny moments, and fluffy ones too...also, there's a bit of a dark element lurking about...can you guess who it is?  
_

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from R. Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory…just this particular plot line and the characters I have made up in my disturbed widdle brain._

_There…now that I've gotten that chore out of the way…back to our story………_

**Chapter 6: I Wonka Sing and Dance…..**

Sarah and Charlie made small talk as they moved gracefully together around the dance floor, oblivious to the stares they were receiving as they drifted along. Sarah laughed delightedly at some off the wall comment by Charlie, and more than one set of appreciative male eyes were drawn and remained on the enticing beauty in white. Her face flushed with laughter and dancing, her eyes sparkling with amusement, she was at that moment as lovely as any model gracing the cover of _Vogue_—even more so, because she was animated, so wholly alive.

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The eyes of the man in the black hat never wavered from his vision. From the moment he had first seen her coming down the carpeted steps into the ballroom, he had been enchanted by her. He had encountered dozens of women here tonight, several of whom had made it clear in the way they had touched him and spoken to him that they were more than willing to get to know him better after the party, but once he had seen her, he had no desire to have any other but her. He watched her now as she slowly danced in the arms of the birthday boy, mesmerized by the occasional glimpse of her delicate ankles and slipper clad feet revealed by the swaying hoop skirt as the couple turned. He felt a sudden flare of another strong emotion---jealousy---as his gaze fell on his angel's dance partner. After all, Charlie Bucket had everything….youth, good looks, a family who loved him, and most irritating of all, the attention of the loveliest creature the watcher's eyes had seen in years.

He had been angry earlier when he had seen the other man's gloved hands touching the object of his desire, but he had stored his rage away for the time being….there would be opportunities for retribution later. He needed to keep his mind focused on the task at hand. There was something very special about this magnificent vision in white, and he knew he had to unlock the secrets in her dark eyes. He would bide his time and wait for just the right moment to get her alone…….

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As the dance drew to an end, Sarah accepted Charlie's proffered arm and he escorted her toward the tower of champagne-filled glasses. As they stood off to one side watching the dancers as they sipped the throat tingling beverage, Charlie slowly lowered his glass and stared off into space, a somewhat sad expression on his face. Sarah looked at him concernedly and asked him what was wrong. He smiled softly and tilted his head as he looked down at her before speaking the words hesitantly. "Despite my fancy education, Sarah, I'm not really much good with words, so I'll be as direct as I can." ((( _Oh Gods, please don't let him say he's fallen madly in love with me!))) _"I haven't got a chance with you, do I?"

The words, which came out more as a statement than a question, were exactly the opposite of what she was expecting and dreading, and the situation left her momentarily speechless. She lowered her gaze for a moment and gave a deep sigh before meeting his glance, her eyes full of regret as she answered him.

"My friends would have me declared certifiably insane for saying this to a single multi millionaire hunk, but I'm sorry, I don't think it would work between us….you're too damn perfect." When he rolled his eyes and snorted his disbelief, she poked him in the side and glared at him. "I'm being serious here, Mr. Bucket. I'm mean really….you're funny, smart, charming, and filthy rich, not to mention dead sexy in evening wear." She laughed when his face flushed as her eyes traveled over him appreciatively. "And I'd be ready to strangle you before the week was out. Charlie, you're great fun, but I can already tell there's no zing, no chemistry between us two." She paused and turned back to watch the dancers before continuing quietly. "You're too nice to keep dangling along on a string…I've seen it happen before, and it's just plain cruel."

Something in her voice made him wonder if perhaps _she_ had been on the receiving end of some callous man's mind game, but before he could inquire she turned back to him, her face searching his, a half smile on her lips as she continued. "Now, please tell me that you don't hate me or I'll be forced to climb to the top of the nearest smoke stack and take a flying leap, knowing I'll never be able to forgive myself for breaking your heart on your birthday."

His amused smile reassured her that she hadn't done any permanent damage to his heart or his ego. "If anyone is too perfect it's you, Sarah—you're beautiful, sweet, smart, and entirely too damn honest." His hand reached out and he absently brushed a stray eyelash from her cheek. "Well, since you won't let me be your lover, will you consent to be my friend at least?" His smirk lasted about 2 seconds only to be replaced by a groaned "Bloody Hell!" as she snatched his Phantom mask and tossed it to a group of giggling young women who had been eyeing the birthday boy from a few yards away. "Later, Friend," she laughingly called out to him as she strolled back toward her seat as he in turn waded into the group of flirtatious admirers to retrieve his missing accessory.

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His curiosity had been piqued by the serious expression on the apprentice chocolatier's face as he spoke to his vision, and he moved to a position where he could eavesdrop without being seen. His spirit soared when he heard his angel let the rich boy down gently….an action which showed him that she too was aware that she needed a real man, not a kid still wet behind the ears.

And later that night, he intended to show her how much of a man he really was….

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While Sarah had gone back to her seat intending to sit and watch like before, she didn't stay there long. She found herself dragged out on the dance floor by a group of women her own age to do the Casper Slide, followed by a delightful waltz with a Clark Gable as Rhett Butler lookalike to the tune of Billy Joel's "Piano Man" (((_I never could resist that scalawag! GWTW Rules!))). _When she joined in for the macarena, she was shocked to see the party's host doing the latin-themed gesture-filled dance as well. Her surprised grin was met with a sardonically raised eyebrow over his unusual eyewear, and a jolt went through her when suddenly she recognized them as the same violet-tinted lenses worn by Mina's "Prince Vlad" in _Bram Stoker's Dracula_.

A bit warm from her exertions, she was leaving the dance floor when Willy once again stepped into the spotlight which had appeared at the top of the stairs, holding a wireless microphone with a small box below the handgrip and an antenna coming out the bottom. The disco lights dimmed and several large screens dropped from the ceiling along the walls of the room. (((_Oh, no….please don't tell me its Karaoke…anything but that…_))) Sarah cringed at the thought of sitting through dozens of crappy singers, each who thought they were the next Brittney Spears or even worse, 50cent. She held her breath and crossed her fingers as Willy began to speak.

"Are you all having a good time?" As the echoing cheers and claps began to die down, Willy smiled cheekily. "That's good, cause now we're going to do something that's going to drive some of you stark raving bonkers!" Sarah's heart sank as she joined many of her fellow guests in groaning. "Just kidding folks…it will drive all of you mad…with jealosy, that is. Seriously, though, a really good friend of mine in Japan couldn't pass up this opportunity to let you guys test out a new invention of his. This is NewKroke, karaoke but with a big difference. This little gadget picks your favorite song right out of your head, that's right. And if you can't carry a tune in a bucket it can even make you sound as good if not better than the original artist, no more murdered eardrums….isn't that just the bomb?" Willy was grinning from ear to ear, but for a moment she could have sworn she saw that same look in his eyes she had seen years ago, that sly, cunning, mischievous spark that made her stomach do flip flops. "So, why don't we pass this baby around and have some fun, kay?" Sarah and others in the crowd gasped when the spotlight went out suddenly, leaving the room momentarily in total darkness until the disco lights came back up. Without warning, the spotlight returned and there stood Charlie, lipstick-covered mask intact and microphone in hand, singing and sounding exactly like Right Said Fred as he belted out "I'm Too Sexy". The lyrics and awesome video images appeared on the lowered screens as the lights flashed in time to the bouncy beat. The crowd clapped and howled as the birthday boy paraded around the room in true model style, the spotlight following his every move. Sarah couldn't resist smacking his tight buns when he bent over and "shook his little tush" on his make believe catwalk before her. Seeing him strut reminded her of the male exotic dancer hired for her friend Wendy's bachelorette party….those pants of Charlie's were very similar to the stripper's cop uniform…(((_sigh_))) She was pulled from the blush-inducing memory when Charlie returned and pushed the microphone into her hands. "Payback's a bitch, sweetie." He murmured, grinning wickedly at her discomfort.

For a moment she froze, standing like the proverbial deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming truck, her mind a complete blank. ((((_Bloody hell, no telling what this thing is going to pick out of my brain……oh, bless you brain, you finally got something right!))))_ Sarah grinned, her eyes flashing with hidden fire as the low, driving thumping baseline heralded the start of one of her all time favorites…Kelly Clarkson's _Miss Independent._ Startled at first when she heard her altered voice come out of the microphone, she quickly slipped into the role of pop performer and started working the room, not even needing to look at the screens since she knew the words by heart. She worked her way among the crowd, focusing on the men, teasing with her eyes and fingertips as she strutted her stuff. She nearly lost it when she caught sight of Charlie fanning himself with one hand and tugging on his tight collar with the other, signifying she was _hottttt._

The crowd was really grooving to the song, and she was almost sad when she had to turn the microphone over amidst the applause and catcalls. The next eager singer, a harem girl in her late 20's, launched into "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" by Cyndi Lauper as Sarah made her way back to her bench. She had barely found her seat when Charlie approached, a grin stretching from ear to ear. "Damn, Shawe, give a fellow some warning next time….I wasn't expecting Sweet Sarah to turn into a sultry siren."

Sarah glared at him, a wicked gleam in her eye as she poked him in the stomach. "I wasn't expecting you to stick that tight ass of yours in my face either, Mr. "I'm not wearing any skivvies." She teased, her voice low enough not to be overheard by passing ears. "I wonder how much the gossip mags would pay to know that the chocolate prince went commando to his own birthday bash, hmmm?"

She laughed softly as he grunted and glared back, rubbing his sore abdomen. "Don't worry, sweet cheeks, your secret is safe with me…for now. By the way," she lowered her voice until it was a sultry whisper. " trust me when I say that if the chocolate factory thing doesn't work out, you'd be a shoe-in for a Chippendale dancer review." She reached out and patted his scarlet cheek affectionately, her laughter tinkling in his flaming ears.

"Wench." Charlie growled, his eyes dancing with amusement. "I suppose now you're going to blackmail me into dating your girlfriends or some other nonsense to keep those lips of your sealed, little miss wicked?" he drawled, reaching out to tug on a dangling curl.

"Nope", she smiled up at him innocently. "However, I'd be willing to forget a certain embarrassing bit of information if you would accompany me and my best mate Megan clubbing in London sometime. I've never been, and I'd feel a lot better going with someone I trust to get us home reasonably intact."

Charlie felt honored that she looked at him as a friend and protector, and his expression was almost tender as he held out his hand. "You drive a hard bargain, Miss Shawe, but it's a deal. You want something to drink?" he asked, as she picked up her fan and began to idly wave it in front of her warm face.

"Another glass of champagne would be lovely, thanks." He nodded and turned away, and as yet another singer took the microphone, her thoughts slipped back to a certain gloved chocolatier with the most amazing eyes……

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The dark-haired man adjusted his hat as he anxiously awaited the opportune moment to approach his angel. His groin still ached from his fevered reaction to her performance just a few minutes earlier. The heated glances and seductive movements she employed as she sang had shown him that she was well aware of how her body could be used to drive men to madness.

Soon it would be him driving her to madness beneath his hands….soon…….

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Charlie returned with her glass and excused himself, saying he needed to take care of some "Urgent Chocolatier Business", waggling his eyebrows at her as he spoke in a mock serious tone. Saying he'd be back shortly, he made her promise to save him another dance, which she did by writing it on her imaginary dance card as he rolled his eyes. He in turn stepped back, giving her a low formal bow before whirling away with sweep of his black opera cape. Chuckling, she turned her eyes once more to the dancers.

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In a small room not far from the ballroom, Charlie met up with his close friend, mentor and patron, who had been sitting Jareth-like across the swivel office chair, one leg over the arm, the other on the floor. He was tapping his cane and watching a series of monitors showing several aspects of the ballroom as he impatiently waited for his protégé to arrive.

He glanced up with a small smile when Charlie slipped into the office, closing the door softly behind him. "Well, dear boy, was I right? Come on, tell, tell!"

Charlie shook his head and grinned. "Ok, ok, I admit it…you were right. She thinks I am too perfect, and told me to sod off, although in a much more charming way, of course. We're becoming pals though, and I've agreed to take her and a friend clubbing in the near future." Willy's triumphant fisted arm doing a silent celebratory "YESSS!" gesture was met with rolled eyes.

Charlie went silent, causing Willy to look up to see his ward watching him as if he wished to say more. Tipping his head and twirling his cane, he favored the young man with a speculative look. "Sooo….something else on your mind, my boy?"

"Sarah's…well, she's special, Willy. I can't say I wasn't disappointed when she warned me off, but at least she was honest about her feelings. She's also sweet, bright, funny, and as you and I both noticed, quite easy on the eyes."

Willy was quiet for a moment. "And you're pointing out her virtues for what reason, Charlie?"

Charlie smirked at his boss. "Don't play dumb with me, Candyman….I didn't miss the looks you were casting her way earlier. You're definitely interested in her, and now that I've spent a little time with her I think I've finally met your perfect woman. I wasn't going to say anything," here Charlie hesitated before continuing with a sly grin "but she was very distracted after you two stole the show earlier—from the way her pulse was racing, I'd lay odds that you're the one who's got her knickers in knots, old thing."

"Knickers in knots, hmmmm?" The velvet coated chocolatier was staring distractedly off into space, an oddly tender and yet somewhat predatory smile on his face. "I think I like the sound of that…"

He suddenly leaped out his chair and was headed toward the door when Charlie stopped him with a hand on his arm. "Please be careful." He requested softly, a small, pleased smile on his face as he observed his distracted boss. He knew his plan had worked when Willy chuckled and adjusted his top hat, flicking an invisible piece of lint off his shoulder with a gloved hand.

"Always am, m'boy, always am!"

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Charlie had only been gone about 10 minutes when she suddenly felt the sensation that she was being watched. Sipping her champagne, she casually glanced over and was surprised to find herself the subject of Willy Wonka's violet gaze from the edge of the dance floor. She couldn't discern any expression on his face as the flashing disco lights danced over him….but his fascinating eyes held hers as the glass remained frozen at her lips. The applause for the last singer caused her to blink and she glanced away briefly, only to look back and find that he had vanished.

Later she would realize that the next several minutes were eerily similar to the drugged peach ballroom scene from her costume's inspiration. Suddenly restless and more than a bit curious about the reason for his stare, Sarah went in search of her host. Weaving her way across the dance floor, she would occasionally sense his presence and turn to see him standing among the dancers, watching her with a smirking grin, only to vanish again as if by magic. After this happened for the 4th time it dawned on her that the hunter had become the hunted, and she got tired of the game. "He's playing with me, the smug bastard." She thought, amused but still mildly irritated as the fact that he was playing Jareth to her Sarah dawned on her. She was working her way back to her bench to wait for Charlie's return when the opening for the next song began, and the spotlight came to life above her.

Startled, she spun, her wide skirts swirling about her legs as Willy walked toward her, a hands free microphone on his ear and a determined look on his face. Stopping directly in front of her, his eyes never left hers as he began singing the opening chorus to Jesse McCartney's "Beautiful Soul" as she stood there stunned and wide eyed.

_I don't wanna 'nother pretty face, I don't want just anyone to hold_

_I don't want my love to go to waste, I want you and your beautiful soul._

_You're the one I wanna chase, you're the one I wanna hold_

_I won't let another minute go to waste, I want you and your beautiful soul_

Stepping behind her, he wrapped an arm around her waist and leaned her back against him to the left, swaying side to side slowly as he sang down to her…..

_I know that you are something special… _

Only to quickly switch sides and lean her to the right, swaying to the music…

_To you, I'd be always faithful_

Leaning her back to a fully standing position, he bobbed from left to right behind her, his gloved hands grasping her by the waist…

_I want to be what you've always needed, then I hope you'll see the heart in me._

As he spoke the last words, he released her and moved around in front of her, his hands crossed over his heart, his eyes regarding her warmly over his violet lenses.

He grooved around her as he sang the chorus again, and she turned in a circle following his every move, blushing at the heat of his gaze. She didn't resist when he picked up her hands and began walking backwards, pulling her towards the middle of the floor, taking tiny, swaying steps in time with the music….

_You might need time to think it over…but I'm just fine, moving forward…_

_I'll ease your mind if you give me the chance. I'll never make you cry,_

_Come on, let's try…_

Arriving at his intended spot, he reached out a hand and brushed her cheek as he sang the chorus again, smiling softly as the crowd around them sighed at the tender romantic gesture. She ducked her head and turned it to the side, aware that he was watching her as he slipped around to her other side, picking up her right hand and pulled it to his cheek, which was chilly under her hot hand. As the song got closer to the end, it took on a deeper, sexier tone and Willy decided to heat things up. Moving behind her, he wrapped both arms around her waist and pulling her against his shoulder, began a familiar "Dirty Dancing" bump and grind, fixing her with a heated gaze as the two of them moved in a dance as old as time.

_Am I crazy for wanting you? Tell me, do you think you could want me to?__I don't want to waste your time._ Releasing her and stepping in front of her, the two of them only inches apart, he brought his gloved index and middle fingers up to eye level, pointing them first at her and then at himself. _Do you see things the way I do? I just wanna know that you feel it to.__There is nothing left to hide…_

As the song lightened up and he sang the last chorus, he moved away from her and stood watching her as he sang, noticing her pulse racing in the hollow of her throat, her glazed eyes and flushed cheeks with satisfaction. '_Yep…definitely got her attention….time for another spectacular finish! _ As the chorus began to fade out, Willy casually reached up and removed the microphone from his ear and tossed it over his shoulder, moving toward her with the grace of a panther, the look on his face making her shiver with mingled fear and desire. ((((_No way…he couldn't be thinking of…)))_

Before she could finish that thought, Willy Wonka had taken her face in both his leather clad hands and was kissing her as the crowd howled its approval.

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**Wheeeeew……that was the longest chapter I think I have ever written; I hope you enjoyed it and weren't driven too crazy by my lyric/choreography segment here at the end. More excitement to come, so stay tuned!**


	8. Chapter 8

_Greetings friends! Once again my humble apologies for the slowness in my updating, but my computer monitor is on the fritz and I haven't gotten around to replacing it yet. I believe the cooling fan is going out, as it shuts down for about a minute out of every 5, which gets really annoying when you are trying to read/write._

_As usual, anything you recognize from the book or movie versions of Charlie and The Chocolate Factory is not owned by me---the only thing I claim is the original characters I create and the plot line, and I am receiving no monetary compensation for the publication of this story._

_Speaking of the story, **this chapter contains fluff, descriptions of an attempted sexual assault, and a bit of gore towards the end, so be warned**! That being said, lets get back to it, shall we?_

**Chapter 8: Sweet Kisses and Death Wishes**

Sarah had read about mind blowing kisses in the romance novels she used to sneak from her mother's room, but nothing she read could come close to describing what it was like to experience one first hand…..

For one thing, from the moment Willy invaded her personal space, no one else seemed to exist; all she could focus on was him and the magic she saw dancing in his eyes. Once his lips captured hers, time ceased to exist as well. Her involuntary gasp of surprise and protest became a sigh of welcome as her eyes drifted shut and she lost herself in the sensation.

Gods….how to describe the sensation of being kissed by Willy Wonka. If she started writing at that moment, she could write until she was lying on her deathbed and still not fully depict the euphoria of that moment. His lips when they first made contact with hers were cool, but quickly warmed as she accepted then returned the sensual gesture. Her hands slipped up and rested on the lapels of his velvet dress coat as she leaned into him.

Feeling Sarah relax against him, Willy deepened the kiss, exploring her mouth hungrily as one hand slipped from her cheek and slipped down to caress and cradle the back of her neck. To say Willy's kiss was sweet was like saying Mt. Kilamenjaro was a big hill; a massive understatement. He tasted of butterscotch, rich and decadent, and when she inhaled Sarah recognized the fragrant scents of chocolate, caramel, and peanuts which seemed to emanate from his clothing. _(((Damn…I feel like I'm sinking into a man size Snicker's bar…)))_The hunger in his kiss awoke a similar hunger from deep inside her, and she could feel her body thrumming with a strange new sensation that made her weak in the knees.

As the saying goes however, all good things must eventually come to an end. After what seemed like an eternity, Willy slowly and gently disengaged, leaning back to look at the woman in his embrace. For a moment Sarah stood there with her eyes closed, still slightly swaying, completely lost in the moment. Then she slowly opened her eyes, blinking rapidly and stared at the man who still held her face with one hand as if trying to remember what she was doing in the middle of the dance floor with him surrounded by clapping party-goers. With a gasp, she released her death grip on his coat lapels as her cheeks flamed with embarrassment. The opening notes of a new song, a slow dance favorite, began pouring out of the rooms hidden speakers.

"Why did you..." But before she could finish her question, his glove covered fingers moved to press gently over her lips in a silencing motion. "Shhhhhhh!" he whispered, lowering his head to gaze at her over his glasses, his eyes revealing amusement as well as barely banked flames of desire. "Dance with me."

Before she could protest, he slipped one arm around her waist and laced the fingers of his other hand through hers as the beginning vocals of "Take My Breath Away" by Berlin swept over the crowd. His eyes never left hers as he guided her steps in the hypnotic ambiance of the dance floor, lit only by the magnificent lights of the crystal disco ball above their heads. After a few minutes it seemed like the most natural thing in the world for her to lean her cheek against his chest; he in turn pulled their clasped hands closer to them and rested his chin on her head as they swayed together. The song was nearing its end when he finally broke the silence between them.

"Sarah?" Willy's breath was warm in her ear as he leaned down to speak, his husky voice pulling her back to reality.

"Hmmmm?" Sarah didn't raise her head or open her eyes, but instead inhaled deeply, memorizing his delicious scent and tucking the memory away for safekeeping.

"There's a question I've been wanting to ask you ever since you walked in this evening."

That combination of words made her snap back to reality, and she raised her head to meet his gaze. Her heart gave a little lurch when she saw the serious yet curious expression on his face"You have my undivided attention."

Willy cleared his throat a little nervously and suddenly a thought ran through her head. . _Oh my God, I think this man may be about to ask me out on a date!_

"When you said during your winning ticket interview that my chocolate came in a close second place to sex, was that comment based on personal experience or merely speculation?"

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Willy Wonka had heard of something called a conniption fit but had never witnessed such a thing first hand. One moment he had been dancing with an angel, the next had found him flying backwards, scrambling to prevent his black top hat from hitting the floor as he watched her swift retreat from the dance floor.

"Must have been something I said, ..eh-heh." He commented matter-of-factly to the guests watching the scene with raised eyebrows. He replaced his hat and tipped it to a rakish angle before smoothing his velvet sleeves and adjusting his gloves, a feral gleam in his eyes as a wide grin crossed his face as he spoke to no one in particular.

"Y'know, I think she kinda likes me!"

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"Of all the boorish, rude, egotistical…ooooh, the nerve of that man! How dare he ask me such a question!"((( _And ruin the probably only perfect romantic moment of my life to boot!)))_

Other party-goers quickly moved out of the way as she hurried past them muttering aloud, following the discreet signs directing guests to the powder rooms. After fighting her wide skirts into a stall to take care of business, she took a few moments to examine herself in the large mirror above the elegant pedestal sink. Her eyes were bright with unshed tears of fury, her face was flushed and her lips were still swollen from his mind-boggling kiss. Pulling a tissue from a conveniently placed box, she quickly blotted away the tears that were threatening to fall and ruin her mascara. Taking a deep, shuddering breath, she spoke to her reflection brusquely. "Get ahold of yourself, Shawe. What were you expecting, a declaration of love at first sight? All he did was kiss you, after all. You'll be going home in a few hours and he'll forget all about you.." _(((But I won't forget about him…not ever!)))_

Taking a deep breath, she adjusted the bodice of her fantasy gown and made a few minute adjustments to her hair before turning away. (((_Maybe it would be best if I said good night to Charlie and left before I make an even bigger fool of myself this evening…)))_

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The watcher had nearly howled aloud with delight when he saw his angel shove the candy maker away from her precious self. _Aaahh, she truly resembles a goddess in her fury…_he sighed with admiration and unrestrained lust as he watched her flee the dance floor. Tightening his mask, he pulled his cape tighter around himself as he followed the object of his desire, sticking to the shadows as he waited for just the right opportunity to strike….any moment now…..

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Sarah nodded politely and plastered a falsely bright smile on her face as the restroom was invaded by several other guests as she was leaving. Moving down the long alcove flanked hallway, she was once again struck at how vast the factory was. There were endless-looking corridors lined with doors on each side of the walkway in either direction. Strolling slowly back towards the ballroom, she paused momentarily just beyond the pillar flanked entry, wondering which direction she should go in to try and find the cloakroom. That short hesitation was all that her stalker needed to make his move.

In an instant Sarah was jerked off balance as a hand wrapped around her arms and waist while another clapped itself firmly over her mouth and nose. The gloved hand muffled her shriek of outrage as she was pulled into the darkened alcove and into one of the endless hallways. His grip held her upper body immobile, but that didn't stop her from twisting and lashing out with her legs. Unfortunately, her voluminous gown prevented her from making contact; the only thing she managed to do was kick off one of her sequined satin slippers.

Her attacker hadn't loosened his grip over her face, and her struggles slowed as her lungs began to burn from lack of oxygen. Just as the blackness started closing in, he released her nose and she was able to suck in some much needed air. That air was swiftly knocked out of her as she was slammed up against a wall and her skirts tossed up over her head. She immediately began to fight even harder, and her renewed struggles earned her a vicious backhand. She felt cold metal against her skin and the sound of nylon ripping, and realized that he was slicing away her awkward hoop skirt.

Sliding the petticoat down to the floor, her attacker whispered to her as he ran his hands down the backs of her trembling thighs. "It wasn't very nice of you to brush me off like you did, Angel. I call you angel because that's what you looked like when you came down those steps earlier, so innocent looking. But then I saw you dancing and when you sang, I knew that you were a fallen angel sent here just to tempt me. I knew right then that I had to have you, and after I do I'm gonna make sure no one else ever has you…you're mine, Angel, mine alone."

The hand slid from over her mouth down around her throat where it tightened, cutting off the beginning of a scream as he pressed her to the wall, his other hand leaving her leg and gliding upward toward her lacy briefs. Her hands, which had been feebly scrabbling at the hand at her throat, clawed blindly for his eyes while her knee sought out his groin. Her assailant outweighed her by at least 100lbs or more, and while her knee making contact caused him to grunt with pain, his face had been well protected by his mask. Angry now, he slammed her once again against the wall, her head striking it so hard that she saw stars.

"So you wanna play rough, Angel? I like to play rough too….lets say we go somewhere a little more private and I'll show you just how rough I can be." With that, he crouched down and wrapping an arm around the back of her legs he tossed her over one shoulder and rose, checking for unlocked doors on each side of the hallway, a dazed and moaning Sarah dangling limply down his back as she prayed silently for intervention.

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Willy kept one eye on the doorway that Sarah had disappeared through when she fled the ball room, but wasn't too concerned when she failed to return right away. He realized that the abruptness of his question had provoked her temper, and that she was probably sulking….after all, that's what he himself did when he got into a snit, although that occurrence didn't happen very often.

Ordinarily, Willy wasn't much of a drinker, though he did enjoy his own blackberry brandy swizzle sticks on occasion, but since it would be rude to indulge without offering any to his guests he settled for a glass of champagne instead. Looking at his watch as he scanned the dance floor for a particular lady in white, he suddenly felt a jolt of warning run down his spine and his extraordinary instincts told him that something was just not right. Setting his glass down on a nearby table, he moved towards the hallway leading to the restrooms.

Standing just inside the columns, he focused his mind and inhaled deeply, separating the various odors that flooded his olfactory senses. Estee Lauder, White Diamonds, Patchouli, Black Suede, marijuana (ooh, someone's being naughty!), Obsession, aaah…there it was. She had been here recently….he could still smell the lavender-vanilla scent that was uniquely hers, and tied with it was something else….an unusual masculine cologne combined with sweat. Following the scent, he turned to the alcove on the right and spotted something white and glittering…a satin shoe lying on its side, an object that screamed "something wrong here" just by its very being. Stepping into the hall, Willy caught another scent that caused him to growl deep in his throat as the blood in his veins began to pulse with barely suppressed rage.

The scent of feminine fear almost overpowered by testosterone enhanced lust……..

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Sarah's head was spinning from the prolonged rush of blood to her brain by the time the madman found the unlocked office. The small room contained only a single chair and a solitary desk covered with paper trays and invoices, but it was enough. With a sweep of his silk covered arm, the man in the Zorro costume swept the desk clean, preparing the altar where he would sacrifice his angel after he finished taking what he wanted from her.

A sharp cry escaped her lips when she was flung unceremoniously down on the hard surface, striking her already aching head against the cold metal. Not bothering to close the door, her assailant climbed on top of her and straddled her legs, preventing her from rolling away from him. The wicked little knife reappeared in his hands, and he used it to hack away the elaborately sequined and beaded bodice of her fairy tale gown. He chuckled as she thrashed frantically beneath his hands, her gaze locked on the knife as he waved it back and forth before her terrified eyes before tucking it away. . "Not yet, Angel….I'm going to look at and touch and taste all of you before I send you back to God." One gloved hand brushed gently, almost seductively around one exposed bosom before squeezing it cruelly, her yelp of pain cut off by the other hand once again pressing against her throat. His hand released her breast and caught her weakly flailing arms, holding them to one side of her head. "I saw the way you were dancing with that freak after you turned me away….he won't give you what I can, what a slut like you deserves." With that, he lunged down and bit her breast, ignoring her tears and muffled shriek. Neither of them noticed the figure that appeared in the open doorway.

Sarah was half conscious from lack of oxygen and scarcely registered the figure's roar of rage before her stalker was suddenly lifted from her, spouting vile obscenities. Gasping and coughing, she rolled off the desk and hit the chair, knocking it and herself onto the floor. Still dizzy, she managed to climb up on all fours and move around the edge of the desk, where she was met with a sight that would forever be etched in her brain.

The obnoxious Texan who had asked for, no, demanded a dance from her earlier that evening was pressed against the wall of the dimly lit hallway. His arms and legs were thrashing as if he was experiencing some sort of seizure as he dangled there, a few inches above the floor. What was even more amazing was that he was being held there by an enraged Willy Wonka, who was using only one arm to hold up a man who was nearly twice his size. Willy was speaking a foreign language she didn't recognize, but the fury in his voice was unmistakable…she had barely managed to take in this information before the unthinkable happened. Willy moved unbelievably fast, and then the Texan uttered a shriek that died down to a deathly rattle as his lifeblood poured from his ripped out throat onto the marble floor of the hall.

A horrified gasp escaped her lips, and Sarah found herself frozen momentarily as Willy turned his attention toward her, his look of fury replaced by shock and sadness as he took in the terrified expression on her rapidly bruising face and her hopelessly torn gown. Her mind reeled as she took in his elongated canines and red-tinged eyes no longer hidden by the violet lenses, as well as the bloody evidence of his savage deed dripping from his chin.

Willy released the dying man, who slipped to the floor like a twitching marionette whose strings had just been cut, and took a step towards her. His movement spurred her into action, and she scrambled backward, clutching her ruined dress with one hand and putting up a hand as if to ward him off with the other. She backed away, looking around for an avenue of escape, and stumbled over the upended chair when she stepped on her now too long gown. Before she could hit the floor, Willy materialized behind her and caught her in his arms. She uttered a mewl of sheer terror and went stiff as a board as her eyes flew up to meet his for a split second, before going utterly limp as she collapsed into a well deserved faint.


	9. Chapter 9

_Greetings to you all, and thank you so much for all the kind reviews! It was kindly pointed out to me that I didn't specify which version of Wonka this story involves, so for the record this is definitely the Johnny Depp incarnation of our favorite Chocolate maker._

_As usual, I do not own Willy Wonka or any recognizable characters from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory; the only thing I lay claim to is the characters and plot line that I made up in my sad, sick widdle brain. I am making no profit from this writing endeavor, so don't sue me, k?_

_I realized that I made a mistake in my chapter numbering, so if you noticed that it skipped from chapter 6 to 8, you did not miss anything so don't panic! Oh, and you'll be pleased to know that the mystery of Sarah's secret tattoo will be revealed in this chapter! Enjoy!_

**Chapter 8: (the real one) Dark Marks….**

Sarah's memories of the events following her attack were blurry, mostly made up of remembered sensations and brief flashes. She recalled the smoothness of Willy's velvet coat beneath her cheek and the paleness of his concerned face, now free of her attacker's blood, gazing down at her. She had other vague memories: high pitched voices and gentle hands removing her torn clothing; the warm, grandfatherly voice of the older man who apologized for blinding her with his penlight.; his gentle hands examining her and applying the pungent smelling healing salve to her injuries, his soft, absent-minded humming soothing her hysterical tears. She remembered the slithering sound and feel of the silk shirt as it was pulled over her head, and his voice warning her before she felt the sting of a needle in her arm before she was gently laid back against the cloud soft pillows and slipped into blessed oblivion.

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Charlie crossed his arms as he leaned against the wall outside one of the finest of the factories guest suites, observing his mentor's frantic pacing with a grim expression on his normally cheerful face. He had abandoned his mask and cape, removed his cravat and unbuttoned the neck of his tuxedo shirt. It was shortly after midnight, and Charlie had hastily bid his guests goodnight and assured them that their prizes would be delivered to them shortly before leaving them to find their way into the waiting limousines on their own. While some considered his actions bordering on rudeness, others chalked it up to eccentricity; nonetheless, his guests departed with no knowledge that anything of a sinister nature had occurred at the factory that night.

"So, let me get this straight….you're dancing with a young woman who just might be the girl of your dreams, The One, when you decide you can't wait to satisfy your curiosity and basically ask her if she's done the horizontal mambo before. Then you fail to immediately follow up and apologize to her, giving this psycho an opportunity to get his hands on one of the sweetest, funniest girls I've ever met."

Willy didn't stop his pacing, but looked up at Charlie with an expression of great sadness and dismay on his face. "I didn't know.." he began, but Charlie interrupted him with a rude noise.

"I wasn't finished. And then to top it all off, you rip out this maniac's friggin' throat right in front of her, possibly traumatizing her for life as well as blowing your cover as the world's only chocolate making vampire…have I left anything out?"

Willy finally stopped his pacing and uttered a sound that was half groan, half shout of rage as he ran his hand through his chin length pageboy hair in a nervous gesture, followed by a deep sigh of frustration. "No, I think that just about covers it. The big question is, what are we going to do about the situation?"

Charlie shrugged his shoulders and looked at Willy with a small smirk on his face. "Well, not having ever murdered someone before, I don't have a protocol to follow. No matter what we do, there are going to be a lot of questions asked that we better have answers for. May I ask first off what you've done with the bastard's body?"

Willy answered grimly. "I had it moved to one of the delivery trucks. I planned to have it disposed of when the winner's prizes were being distributed."

Charlie looked thoughtful for a moment, then shook his head. "No, too risky. There's too many chances that someone would remember him and the incident that took place at the party. Then there's the fact that the police would be looking for the killer, and some innocent party might be accused and actually convicted for the crime. It would be much better if the police discovered a disturbed man who committed suicide."

Willy listened intently as Charlie went on to with a proposed plan of action in a calm, matter of fact way that left his boss and friend speechless. When he was finished, he looked at his protégé with sheer awe. "Just out of curiosity, where did you learn all that?"

Charlie just flashed him a wolfish grin and chuckled. "Ever heard of an American tv show called C.S.I.?"

Before Willy could inquire further, the door to the suite opened abruptly, and both chocolatiers turned to see the doctor emerging, closing the door softly behind him. They waited tensely as the kindly-looking man set his black bag down, pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and began to clean his half-moon glasses, holding them up to the light as he began to speak.

"That little gal has had quite a rough time this evening, gentlemen, but she is young and will recover quickly, physically at least. Thankfully, she has no broken bones as far as I can tell, but you'll need to watch her for signs of concussion---she was struck several times about the face and has a fairly good-size goose egg on her noggin. Normally I'd recommend she be hospitalized for observation, but given the circumstances I believe she'd be better off in your care." Putting his glasses back on, he looked at the two men with a very serious expression. "I've seen the signs of rape and trauma a hundred times before, but this is one of the worst I've come across. The last thing that young woman in there needs is a bunch of strangers poking and prodding her---what she needs is quiet, lots of rest and a good therapist." The doctor's eagle eyes locked with Willy's and seemed to look all the way into his soul. "I take it the perpetrator has been dealt with?"

Willy nodded solemnly. "He will not be causing pain to anyone… ever again."

The doctor harrumphed, a look of satisfaction crossing his face. "A shame really….after seeing his handiwork, I was going to offer to make a eunuch of him, without the benefit of anesthesia, of course. An animal who would do something like this deserves no compassion."

Charlie's face had gone as pale as his bosses. "Doctor, I know it's a violation of the doctor/patient privilege but I have to know….did he.." His voice cracked and he let the rest of the obvious question remain unspoken.

The doctor sighed. "No, lad, not as far as I can tell. Her undergarments were still intact, what little there was of it…shocking what flimsy garments young women wear these days." Realizing where his thoughts were wandering, the doctor shook his head and cleared his throat. "As for our patient, I can tell you she has massive bruising, some scratches and abrasions, and is suffering from trauma induced shock. I've given her something for pain and a mild sedative, and your helpers have put her to bed. By the way, Willy----have you known this young woman long?"

Willy looked taken aback, and looked at his physician curiously. "Not at all, doctor….I've never seen her in person before this evening. Why do you ask? Did she say something about me?" A sudden apprehension went through Willy; what if she had mentioned what she had seen?"

The doctor's expression lightened and turned speculative, his bright blue eyes twinkling like a certain Jolly Old Elf's as they observed Willy over his glasses. "No, she hasn't spoken a word…I was just satisfying my own curiosity. Though if I were in your place, I might want to ask her what inspired her charming tattoo." The doctor chuckled at Willy's confused look before reaching down and picking up his trademark luggage. Now, if you lads will excuse me, these old bones are calling out for their bed. I'll stop back by tomorrow to check on our patient. Until then, goodnight, gentlemen." And with that he strolled away, whistling softly, his bag swinging gently with every step.

Willy looked thoughtful as he and Charlie quietly entered the room where Sarah rested. He quietly dismissed the oompah-loompah medics with a few murmured words and a smile of thanks, and turned his attention to the dark-haired figure lying so still on the large white bed. When he saw the extend of the damage that had been done, half of him wanted to weep; the other half wished that the monster who had done this to her was still alive so he could kill him again, slowly and painfully.

The vision he had danced with only an hour earlier was lying partially on her side, the bedclothes tucked up to her chest with one arm lying limply on top of the covers. Her right eye was swollen almost completely shut, her lower lip was split and her cheeks were covered with bruises in varying shades of maroon, purple and black. She had been dressed in one of his elegant silk shirts, and it was low enough in the neck that he could see the dark markings of finger shaped bruises around her slender throat. The white silk was sheer enough that he could see more bruises on her upper arms and delicate wrist. He could feel the beast in him fighting to the surface, his fists clenched at his side, his preternaturally manicured nails drawing blood as he fought the impulse to run his fist through the nearest wall. He flinched when Charlie, who had been silently standing by his side, put a hand on his shoulder comfortingly.

"I'm sorry, my friend….I was out of line earlier. What happened wasn't your fault, and I shouldn't have inferred that it was. It's just this whole situation sucks…" He chuckled as Willy favored him with a withering glance.."Yeah, bad pun I know, but if the foo shits…anyway, how do you plan on explaining what she saw to her when she wakes up?"

Willy sighed and rubbed the back of his neck tiredly without taking his eyes off the sleeping woman. "Right at this moment, Charlie, I haven't the foggiest."

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Sarah was dreaming…

She was once again in the ballroom in Willy's arms, semi-waltzing to what she recognized as Only The Lonely by the Motels. She was mesmerized by his eyes, similar to the way her namesake had been in Labyrinth, but unlike the other Sarah, she was certain of her feelings for the man in whose arms she rested. _I could stay like this forever…_was what was running through her mind when she turned her head to rest it on his chest and closed her eyes.

She didn't know what made her open her eyes, but when she did, she saw him watching her from across the room. The man dressed in black from head to toe was definitely on the prowl, his mask failing to hide the hunger in his eyes as his gaze met and held hers. Sarah tore her eyes away and looked up at Willy, who was smiling down at her softly. She looked the other way, only to find the hunter had somehow managed to circumnavigate the room and was now only a few yards away, a predatory grin appearing as he approached. She heard a clock striking midnight somewhere as she tried to pull herself free from Willy's arms, which had suddenly tightened around her like a steel trap. Gasping with pain, she looked up at him, only to find him looking down at her with a strange expression on his face. She was horrified to see him licking his lips like a cat anticipating a nice bowl of cream, his elongated canine teeth slicing his tongue, causing red drops of blood to dribble down his chin. He looked over at her stalker and spoke to the man almost casually. "There's plenty of her to go around…care to share?"

The masked man reached for her, and Sarah screamed…

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Charlie left the room to contact Sarah's next of kin, thankful that the winners had been required to leave the information when claiming their prize. The two men had decided to say that Sarah had been invited and had accepted an invitation to stay and take an extended tour of the factory, and perhaps entertain a job offer there. Her parents had been slightly irked that she hadn't called them herself, but were thrilled about their daughter's prospects.

Willy had been sitting by Sarah's bedside for about an hour when the nightmares struck. She began to thrash around as if in pain, and then suddenly she sat up, her eyes wide open focusing on something only she could see, and she was wailing in terror. Tossing down his PDA, he went to her side to try and calm her fears, but when he touched her all hell broke loose.

The Sarah trapped in her nightmares was fighting for her life, and when she was able to focus and saw Willy reaching out to her, she recalled the earlier events and lashed out in sheer terror. Despite her frail appearance she packed quite a punch…a fact Willy learned firsthand. Her closed fisted blow sent him reeling onto the bed and across her lap. Half awake and terrified, she half rolled, half shoved him off onto the floor where he landed with a hard grunt, and he caught a glimpse of nicely tanned legs as she climbed out of the bed and made for the door. She jerked it open and fell weeping into Charlie's startled embrace. "Whaaaa?"

"D..Don't let him kill me too…" She managed to gasp out before falling limp in his arms. He stood there awkwardly with the unconscious woman draped against him, giving Willy an angry glare as the man picked himself up off the floor. Willy returned the look, one hand carefully feeling his rapidly swelling cheek. "Don't look at me in that tone of voice, young man….she was having a nightmare, and when I went to comfort her she planted a facer on me." His look softened and looked almost sad as he observed their young guest. "One thing is certain now….she remembers what happened to her attacker." A look of interest crossed his face as he noticed something odd. "Hello, what have we here?" He walked over to the doorway and swept Sarah into his arms, carrying her to the bed where he laid her down and gently rolled her onto her stomach on the soft mattress..

The silk dress shirt she was wearing had ridden up when she collapsed, revealing tiny white bikini briefs and something else; a tattoo, but not your typical rose, or devil, butterfly or any other of the hundreds of thousands of standard pieces of body art. This one was unique. Although small, the elegant script was still quite easy to make out.

**_Exclusive Private _**

**_Property_**

**_ of _**

**_Willy Wonka_**

The capital W's of his name were in done in his familiar trademark swirls, and the words were surrounded by a circle of elegant scrollwork. Willy looked over at Charlie in amazement, the first genuine grin since the incident earlier that night spreading across his face before he pulled the covers back up and over the sleeping woman. _((So that's what the doctor was talking about…)))_ Willy thought to himself, a small smirk crossing his face when he realized why the doctor had reacted the way he had to his denial of knowing Sarah intimately. (((_Well, if that's not an invitation to get to know her better, I don't know what is…hmmm…gotta remember to put that on the top of my to do list…)))_ After Willy retrieved his PDA, the two men then turned and walked to the doorway, but before they crossed the threshold, Willy stopped and went back. Reaching her side, he gently ran a single ungloved finger across her bruised cheek before bending down to whisper softly in her ear. 

"For what it's worth, Sarah my sweet, you definitely have my seal of approval."


	10. Chapter 10

**Greetings, friends! Thank you for your patience and for not killing me for being so slow in updating! A big hug to all of you who take the time to review—your comments are very much appreciated! This chapter will contain more yummy fluffiness, so I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from Charlie and The Chocolate Factory and am not making any money from this writing.**

**Chapter 9: Sweet Dreams**

The first thing Sarah noticed when she woke up was the smell of chocolate. The rich, heady aroma of the sweet substance literally permeated the air, and she couldn't help but smile as she stretched cat-like and inhaled deeply. She lay in the warm, cozy bed, reluctant to leave its soft embrace, until the significance of the sweet odor made its way into her sleep-fogged mind. _Why am I smelling chocolate? Wait…Silver Ticket…the party at the factory…I met Charlie and Willy…WILLY!_

. "Glad to see you back among the living, sweet Sarah." Her eyes flew open and met the amused gaze of the fore-though of chocolate maker, who lay stretched out on his side full length beside her, his head propped up on his left arm as he watched her with a mischievous grin on his pale face. Willy stared at her as if mesmerized, reaching out with a gloved hand to brush a lock of hair away from her face.

For a moment, there was dead silence as the reality of Willy Wonka laying on the bed with her set in; Sarah stared at him, too horrified to speak or move. Then with a startled yelp, she shrank from his tender touch and rolled away, taking herself and the covers onto the floor where she landed with a groan-inspiring thump. Her actions sent Willy rolling in the opposite direction, but fortunately, he had been expecting something of the sort to happen and was not caught unaware. He landed on his feet and moved gracefully around the foot of the bed where Sarah lay struggling to free herself from the cocoon of blankets. He seated himself gracefully on the floor Indian style and rested his chin in his hands as he watched her squirm about.

"Y'know, I've always found my bed to be quite comfortable, but if you prefer to sleep on the floor, I'm sure we can work out a compromise." With an undignified shriek, she half rolled, half crawled underneath the high bed where she curled up, literally panting with terror. _So she wants to play hide and seek, hmmm? Well, I'm game…_With a grin, Willy stretched out and rolled under the bed until they were once again face to face. Startled by his sudden move, Sarah tried to roll away, only to have her wrist caught in his firm grasp. She lashed out with a closed fist towards his face, only to have her other hand intercepted as Willy shook his head slowly, a mock frown on his face.

"Uh-uh-uh! Didn't anyone ever tell you it wasn't nice to sock your host, especially when said host just happens to have saved your life? You landed me a good one yesterday and you're forgiven, but no more punching the nice vampire in the face, 'kay? It really dampens the mood." He released her right hand and chuckled, casually flicking her nose with one gloved finger. "Kinda romantic in a spooky sort of way under here, isn't it?"

When she tensed and squeezed her eyes shut, Willy heaved and exasperated sigh and reached out with one arm to pull her close. Resting her head in the crook of his right arm, he maintained her hold on her right arm at her waist. He slowly ran his left hand up and down from her shoulder to her hip in a repetitive motion, while at the same time uttering a a soft, soothing, shushing sound. He could feel her trembling, and was dismayed that he was the cause of her fear. He gently ran his fingers down the side of her face and cupped her chin in his hand. "Sarah, please look at me." He said softly, and she flinched as if he was about to strike her. He tried again, lowering his voice a half-octave and putting a bit of his special hypnotic power behind his request. "Sarah, open your eyes and look at me, sweetness. That's my girl!" he murmured as her frightened eyes slowly opened at his command. "There, that wasn't so bad, now was it, hmmm? Relax, girlfriend, I'm not going to bite you….at least not yet anyway. " His chuckle died as her eyes rolled with terror, and for a moment he was afraid she was going to faint on him again. "Sarah, shhhhhhh, my dear, it was a joke." His voice grew serious as he continued. "If I had wanted to harm you, don't you think I would have so by now? You've had a bad shock, and all I want to do is take care of you. I'm not your enemy, Sarah…" He leaned in until his nose was even with hers, and then his lips brushed hers with an almost chaste kiss. "In fact, I'm completely on the other end of the spectrum." His white teeth gleamed in the dim light. "Now, as much as I like dark enclosed spaces, I would rather have this conversation in a little more hospitable setting. If I let go of you, will you come out without trying to beat me to a bloody pulp? I think there's some things we need to talk about."

At her tremulous nod, he released her arm and she scrambled out from under one side of the bed as he came up from the other. He made no sudden moves toward her but instead focused on brushing imaginary flecks of dirt and lint off his velvet coat, giving her a chance to look over her surroundings. She didn't remember a great deal about her previous awakening, other than running toward the door, but something about the area seemed…well…different. _Funny…I don't remember the room being this dark before, or as big…_

"I took the liberty of having you moved to my room while you slept so I could keep a closer eye on you. It's also quite a bit more comfy than the guest rooms above ground."

Sarah looked up at Willy, a startled expression on her face as she backed away towards the living room portion of Willy's suite. "Are you reading my mind….is that one of your…powers?" Sarah asked, bumping into the leather sofa and plopping down, her shaky legs not wanting to support her any more. "And what do you mean aboveground….do you mean that we're..?"

Willy had followed her into his living area, where he promptly flopped down into his immense purple bean bag chair and pulled out three giant size Everlasting Gobstoppers and began twirling them around with one hand, similar to Jareth's mesmerizing crystal trick in Labyrinth. "Yep, 275 feet down, to be precise. Believe it or not, 85 of the factory is underground. What you see from the street is just a smidgen of my world. It will be my pleasure to show it all to you. Of course, that will take some time, but that's the one thing I have plenty of, my being immortal and all." Willy smirked at the wary look she gave him. "And as for reading minds, I sometimes can hear other people's thoughts when they think them loud enough, and emotions as well. In your case though, I didn't need to---I could tell you didn't recognize the room by the look on your face" Willy stopped twirling the balls and was now juggling them quite rapidly, the tip of his tongue extended as he focused on his task.

Sarah looked over at Willy and favored him with an angry glare. "Will you please stop playing with your balls for a minute and tell me exactly what I am still doing here?" Willy made a strange noise and lost his concentration, sending a pouting look her way as he scrambled to catch the colorful orbs as they flew in different directions. Sarah sighed and shook her head, rising from the couch to pace back and forth in front of the big screen tv, a bit self conscious as she realized she was wearing nothing but a long silk dress shirt. "It's not that I don't appreciate your hospitality, and I'm very grateful that you saved my ass from that freaky Zorro wanna-be. I feel perfectly fine, but if you are worried about me you could just as easily send me to the hospital. I'm sure your insurance would cover it, and I swear to you I won't sue. I mean, it's not your fault that one of your guests turned out to be a horny psychopath."

"You're here because you need time to recover from the attack, and we need to discuss the fact that you know what I am, as well as what we should do about the situation. I'm afraid I can't let you leave until we resolve these issues." _Not that I intend to let her leave at all…hopefully before long she won't want to leave me, ever…_ Willy sat back in the huge sack-like chair, looking perfectly relaxed as he prepared to talk about his undead state.

She turned back toward him, closing her eyes and tipping her head back as she rubbed her arms in a nervous gesture, a fearful yet somewhat sad expression on her face. "I…you don't have to worry about me saying anything to anyone about you being a vampire. It's not like anyone would believe me even if I did tell…they'd declare me certifiable and lock me up in a heartbeat. Maybe they should anyway…maybe I am going mad. Either that or I ate some bad mushrooms or something and just imagined the whole throw the rapist against the wall and rip out his throat scenario."

"Or you could face the truth—that you saw me give that bastard the punishment he rightly deserved for laying hands on my woman." She didn't hear him move but felt a breeze, and when she lowered her head and opened her eyes he was suddenly in front of her, looking down at her with a serious expression. "I may look harmless, Sarah, but I am still a vampire, and I make no excuses for protecting those in my care. I did what I felt was necessary at the time…I'm only sorry that you had to witness such a thing. I am not usually so…" For a moment, Willy seemed to be at a loss for words.

"What….cruel? Violent? Brutal? Vicious? Take your pick…any and all of the above apply. You should have called the police instead of killing him in cold blood." Sarah snapped at him, pushing out of his arms and taking a few steps away before turning back to face him once more. "And since when am I" she raised her arms and using the index and middle fingers of each hand as emphasis ""your" woman? I don't recall exchanging more than a half dozen sentences with you at the party. I never expressed any interest in even dating you, much less sharing your bed or last name, especially after you insult me by practically asking me if I have any experience in the sack, and now all of a sudden I'm your property?" Her fury increased as she saw Willy's serious expression lighten as he broke into a smirking grin, his preternatural eyes almost glowing in the room's subtle lighting. It was then that she recalled her state of undress, and the words she had given the artist came back to bite her in the proverbial ass….

"You saw the tattoo, didn't you?"_ Arrrrrgggggh…me and my bright ideas…_

Her heart sank as his grin widened and he nodded. "Loooocy, I think you got some 'splainin to do." He commented, ala Ricky Ricardo as he approached her in a predatory manner, backing her up and bracing his hands on either side of her shoulders against the big screen tv.

Realizing she couldn't maneuver around him, she looked at the floor as she spoke, refusing to meet his eyes. "It was my way of rebelling; you were never meant to see it, I swear. I was angry at my dad for giving me the third degree about not selling my winning ticket and decided to do something, well, outrageous. So I got the tattoo and took a picture of it and well, um.."

"And ummm? Go on…I'm just dying to hear what was going through your devious little mind." His taunt made her angry, and she gritted her teeth before continuing rapidly.

"I wanted to do something to embarrass my dad, so I wrote a letter to Penthouse Forum, saying that you and I had wild pig sex while covered in marshmallow crème and chocolate syrup during the party, and I signed my name and hometown to it." She gulped and glanced up to see Willy looking at her with his eyebrows raised, his cheeks a bit pinker than they had been a moment before. "I didn't send it." She rushed to assure him.. "Once I cooled down, I knew I would never be brave enough to actually mail it. I came awfully damned close to doing it, though; I can just imagine my dad's reaction to…" Willy cut her off with a kiss.

_I gotta stop letting him kiss me like this…_The voice of her subconscious was overridden by her body's desire to continue the pleasurable sensations that Willy's close proximity were causing. The kiss was becoming hungry, and Sarah's hands crept up to the back of Willy's neck beneath his silky hair as she held on for dear life. Getting dizzy from the lack of oxygen, she finally broke away, gasping and reeling, unaware of the lovely picture she made with her passion-glazed eyes and kiss-swollen lips.

Willy smirked. "Your brain may say you're not interested in being mine, but your body has been telling me otherwise." He realized a moment later that that was probably not the best comment he could have made at that particular moment as the beauty in his arms turned beast-like in her anger.

"OOOOhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Of all the nerve….Sod off, you obnoxious wanker!" With that she applied her patella to the most tender portion of his anatomy and shoved him aside, heading for the doorway. How he beat her there she didn't know, but as she reached for the doorknob suddenly he was before her, a strange expression that Sarah couldn't read upon his face.

"Now that…that wasn't very nice of you, and once I am able to stand up straight again, I am most likely going to be very, very angry." His voice was very tight, and she noticed that his upper body was still bent over as if he was preparing to heave. "You weren't thinking of going somewhere, were you?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I am. I'm going to find my way to the surface, wave down a taxi, go home, schedule an appointment to get this damn tattoo removed from my bum, and forget I ever met you!" With that she flung open the door, and stood there dumbfounded as she looked at the 30 foot wide churning chocolate river that swirled in front of her. There was a set of rapids to her far left, and the swiftly moving dark brown flow disappeared into several tunnels in various directions to the right. There was literally no where to run to.

"If you're thinking about going for a swim, I wouldn't recommend it. You'd more than likely get sucked into one of the fudge room intakes chutes, and that would be….unpleasant, to say the least." His voice was calm, and despite his rage moments earlier at her desperate attempt at escape, his arms were gentle as he wrapped himself around her, leaning down to rest his chin on her shoulder. He felt a moment of sorrow as he saw the realization dawn on her that she was virtually trapped in his underground world until he said otherwise, but it was for the best.

"Come and sit down, Sarah….we still haven't finished our talk yet." He felt her reluctance, and tugging gently, he turned her around to face him.

"Talk….what is there left to talk about? I'm the unwilling prisoner of a chocolate making vampire who's god only knows how old and who's holding me deep underground, possibly for nefarious purposes! What's there to say other than I want you to release me and I mean right now?"

"Well, lets see….I'm 138, which is relatively young in vampire years, I'm a Leo, I'm immortal, I enjoy long walks on the beach, in the moonlight of course, I like all most kinds of music, I don't have to eat but I adore Mexican and Chinese food, and I like to use chopsticks. I'm a snappy dresser, I really like chocolate but I think you know that already, I stand 5'10 in bare feet, I'm immortal, I adore crossword puzzles, and I have honorary degrees from 3 universities. I'm tired of being alone, I think you're absolutely the most beautiful woman on the planet and I'd very much like to snog you until you faint, and I am seriously thinking about converting you and making you my wife forever, oh, and did I mention I'm immortal?"

THUD

"Sarah?"

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	11. Chapter 11

_Greetings, friends! I know it has been a while, but I haven't been able to spend as much time writing as I would like to. I want to thank all of you who have read and reviewed this story, and I hope you enjoy this chapter._

_Disclaimer: I don't own any of the recognized characters from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and am making no profit from this piece of creative writing._

_**Just to let you know, this story is rated T, and this chapter does have a tiny smidgen of citrus near the end, but nothing too offensive. All comments are welcome!**_

**Chapter 10: Maybe…or maybe not….**

Willy looked down to see Sarah sitting in a heap at his feet, staring at nothing in particular with a bemused expression on her bruised face. Puzzled, he crouched down and leaned closer, looking at her with concern. _Hmmmmm……maybe I shouldn't have mentioned the wife for all eternity bit…at least not before we've had our first official date…TMI, fer sure! _When waving his gloved hands in front of her face didn't produce any reaction, he sighed and sat down next to her. Pulling a purple cell phone out of the inner pocket of his velvet dress coat, he speed dialed his protégé and laid back on the thick cream colored carpet while he waited for Charlie to answer.

"Yo, CB my man, what's on your agenda for today? That's slamming, my man, cause I need you to do me a fav….I want you to keep an eye on things for me for the next day or so. No, I'm fine… I'm just gonna be tied up for a while with Sarah…..No, not literally, and I don't know if she's into that kind of thing. Geesh, for a guy who doesn't get out much you sure have got some perverted ideas….what? Where did you see that?….the internet? Heheheheh…why am I not surprised." Willy chuckled. "It did, huh?…Better be careful…I've heard you can go blind doing that…..No, shouldn't take more than a day or two, why?…..A date, huh? Who with? The twin shepherdesses from the party? Duuuddeeeee…. you really know how to make up for lost time!…I know, I know…I'm working on that situation as we speak. Listen, I gotta go….holler if you need me, and hey, be sure to keep an eye on centrifuge # 3 in the Inventing Room…it's been acting a little hokey lately, and I think we need to order a replacement…talk at ya later!"

Willy flipped his phone shut and sat up, only to come face to face with an extremely irate Sarah, who having snapped out of her shock-induced stupor was favoring him with a murderous glare that would have sent a normal man running for the hills. Fortunately, Willy Wonka was not an ordinary man, and he couldn't help but admire the gleam of cold fury in her eyes and the way her crossed arms accentuated and deepened the cleavage revealed by the partially unbuttoned dress shirt she wore.

"Are you ready to continue our conversation now, or would you rather rest a while?" His question was met with silence, along with a heaping helping of icy disdain. He tried again. "I know you must be hungry…..tell you what, why don't you tell me what you'd like, and I'll have the kitchen whip it up faster than you can say Wonka's Whipple Scrumptious Fudgemallow Delight Bar, hmmm?" An annoying huff and a turn of her head was the only response he received. _oookaayyyy….this is going well……hmmmm……guess the only thing to do is fight silence with silence. There's more than one way to tame a shrew….Shakespeare, eat your heart out…you haven't seen anything yet!…_

Willy chuckled aloud, and Sarah turned back to glare at him once more, her balled fists resting in her lap as if she was holding back the urge to sock him with all her might. Springing easily to his feet, he looked down at her with a smug expression on his face. "Well, since you're not in the mood to talk, think I'll take myself a little siesta, muchaha….feel free to explore the other rooms in the suite," his face became serious for a moment "but don't touch the safe or you won't be a happy camper." His grin returned. "Oh, and if you're going to curse me, try to keep it soft if you would….my inner child is very, very sensitive and I'd hate for you to traumatize him. Goodnight!." And with that, he strolled over to the bed, laid down, tipped his top hat down over his eyes, and appeared to be snoring lightly within moments.

Sarah blinked rapidly a few times, stunned at the rapidness of his mood changes as she processed the information he had just given her. Other rooms in the suite? She glanced around, and her eyes settled on a previously unnoticed doorway that beckoned for her to explore. Rising to her feet, she walked to the archway and found herself in the middle of a short hall with 5 doors. She turned to the left and upon opening the farthest door, she found herself in a bedroom size closet, filled from floor to ceiling with elegant clothing in a variety of fabrics, all arranged by color. Above the clothes racks was a row of hatboxes, which undoubtedly contained Willy's trademark top hats. Underneath the neatly hung garments were shoes in a variety of colors and styles, as well as at least a dozen pairs of highly polished boots identical to the ones he was currently wearing. A large armoire in the center of the far wall drew her attention, and she couldn't resist the urge to peek inside. On top was a large safe, which, heeding Willy's warning, she avoided. Below the safe were several narrow drawers containing a variety of elegant pins, made from gold, silver and platinum and set with diamonds and various gems. The larger main drawer in the middle contained several dozen pairs of gloves, once again in a rainbow of colors, in silk and leather, and even some in what appeared to be reinforced latex. The two lowest drawers contained brightly colored bikini briefs, still in their packages, and Sarah couldn't help but grin despite her anger at the situation she found herself in. "And here I took you for a boxer man, Willy…ooh, wait a minute…what's this? Ah hah!" then chuckled with triumph as she dug deeper and pulled out several pairs of boxers….one with red lips and pink hearts, a pair covered in Easter eggs, a black pair with ghosts and jack-o-lanterns, and yet another pair in pale green with large shamrocks. "Why am I not surprised that you'd go all out for the holidays, Mr. Wonka?"

Returning the silky items to their drawer, she looked over and spotted a row of dressing gowns and decided to appropriate one to wear over the scanty shirt she wore. Feeling much more comfortable, she left the dressing room and moved to the next room along the corridor, which turned out to be a multi media playroom of sorts. Large entertainment centers were situated along the walls on either side, with 27 inch tv's and video game consoles as well as shelves lined with every kind of game imaginable. Colorful beanbag chairs and huge throw pillows were scattered on the floor and piled in the corners of the room. The far wall was covered with bookcases, containing everything from comic books to the classics, and more importantly, a built in computer station. She spent a few minutes trying to get online, but without Willy's password the quest was hopeless. _Well, if I'm going to be a prisoner down here, at least I won't get too bored…I'll just sit and play Donkey Kong til my brain melts…_

Leaving the media room, she entered the 3rd room, and after fumbling for the light switch she found herself in what looked to be an authentic 50's malt shop. The black and white tile floor gleamed under the fluorescent lighting, and the walls were covered with large movie posters, autographed photos of movie stars and black vinyl records. To her right was a old fashioned soda fountain, and in the corner stood a huge juke box complete with neon piping and floating bubbles. A couple of booths and a trio of metal tables and padded chairs with wrought metal backs completed the effect. Suddenly thirsty, Sarah stepped behind the counter and helped herself to a Coke from the tap, adding healthy amounts of vanilla and cherry flavored syrup, sniffing the red bottle carefully before pouring. Drink in hand, she strolled up to the jukebox, which was taller than her by at least a foot, and looked at the selections listed. Her eyebrows raised when she saw that Willy hadn't been kidding when he said he liked all kinds of music…country, rock, blues, jazz, even classical and opera were present in the massive machine. A sudden flash of her and Willy sharing an oversized sundae in one of those booths while listening to Buddy Holly tunes flashed through her mind, and she banished the scene with a grimace.

Finishing her soda, she rinsed the glass and left it in the sink, turned off the light and moved on. The next room held a variety of exercise equipment and athletic gear neatly racked along the narrow room's walls. "Guess he has to do something to work off all those chocolate calories." Sarah mused as she looked over the selection of tennis rackets and hockey sticks, grinning as she pictured the candymaker facing off against a pint sized oompah-loompah on the ice. Turning around, she returned to the hall and opened the final door.

"Aaahhh, now this is more like it!" Sarah sighed with appreciation as she entered the most fantastic bathroom she had ever seen. The creamy marble floored room was a designer's dream, its center focus a large round garden bathtub with soothing hydro jets surrounded by white pillars. It reminded her at once of the documentary she had seen on Liberace's bathroom, complete with the painted frescos on the ceiling. What was even more amazing was that the pillars were wrapped with living green ivy, fed natural light via ingenious tubular skylights from the surface far above, giving the bather the feeling of being in a garden arbor. To the left was a discreetly hidden commode and bidet, as well as an impressively large glass walled amber marble shower stall with 7 jets. A large armoire was filled with fluffy white towels and plush terry bathrobes with the initials "WW", as well as a pull out drawer full of various bath salts, shampoos and other accessories. To the right was another door, and going through it she discovered something that had her gasping with delight.

The blue waters of the guitar shaped swimming pool shimmered in the fluorescent lighting, and she caught the faint scent of chlorine as she stepped into the humid paradise. The ceiling resembled that of a treasure cave, covered with beautiful semi precious and unique stones. To the right, steam was visible as it rose from the surface of the octagon shaped in ground jacuzzi, and in the far corner of the room she saw the redwood walls of what she was sure was a sauna. A large screen tv, a stereo with massive speakers and a pair of comfy looking padded loungers took up the remaining space in the cavernous room.

Unable to resist the temptation, Sarah quickly found the switch to turn on the jets, then looking around to make sure she was alone, she stripped off her stolen robe, shirt and after a moment's hesitation, her skimpy underwear as well. She hissed when she stepped into the churning hot water before sinking in up to her chin with a sigh and a giggle. There was just something so decadent about being naked in a hot tub….letting those tiny bubbles work their magic and wash away all your stress and tension. Placing a folded towel beneath her neck, she laid her head back and closed her eyes and felt herself drift…..

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"Y'know, from the moment I saw you I thought you were one hot mama, but you don't have to cook yourself to prove me right. "

The warm, seductive voice murmuring in her ear startled her awake, and she couldn't hold back the yelp of embarrassment and horror as she crossed her arms protectively across her chest and glared at him, wondering how long he had observed her while she dozed. He lay stretched out on his stomach with his chin propped on his left hand while his right trailed in the bubbling water and up her exposed arm, smiling faintly at her fury. Suddenly his gaze narrowed, a wicked grin spreading as he looked between her and the wall switch controlling the bubbles, and she could almost hear the wheels in his mind turning as she perceived his intent to expose her in all her naked glory. Sarah shrieked and grabbed for a towel, turning an even deeper shade of red as she attempted to tuck the suddenly sodden cloth around herself in the water, and Willy pouted at her for spoiling his fun.

"I'm glad to see you've made yourself at home, but to be honest, boiled lobster isn't a good look for you, so why don't you come out and have a bite with me?" Seeing her flinch as her glare was replaced by a look of fear, he sighed before continuing. "And before you ask, no, you're not on the menu. I wouldn't object to having a wee sip or two from you for dessert, sweet Sarah, but I only take what is freely given, and you'd have to ask me very, very nicely…." He grinned as his plan to make her lose her fear worked, and the glare returned full force.

"So, what do you say, my little sugarplum, will you come out and let me wine and dine you like a proper host, or are you going to continue giving me the silent treatment? You can't stay in that human boiling pot forever, y'know." When he was met once more with stony silence, he sighed with resignation and rose to his feet. "Too bad….I had a great time planned for us this evening too….your loss." He turned as if to leave, then moving at almost hyper speed he grasped Sarah under the arms, using his enhanced vampire strength to lift her easily from the hot tub and tossed her into the deep end of the nearby pool.

The shock of the cold water on her overheated body caused the air to whoosh out of her lungs, and she rose to the surface gasping and coughing. Not being a strong swimmer, she dog-paddled to the side of the pool and flung her now sopping wet hair out of her eyes. Glancing around, she gaped as she found that Willy had moved to the other side of the pool and had removed his hat, coat and gloves. As she watched, he was in the process of unbuttoning his vest, never taking his eyes of her as he did so.

"Wha…what are you doing?" She sputtered, treading water as she clutched at the side of the pool with both hands, the words echoing in the cavern-like chamber.

"What does it look like I'm doing, my enchanting little goo-goo cluster?" Having finished with his vest, he removed his platinum pin and was now unbuttoning his dress shirt. "You looked lonely in that big pool all by yourself, and since I couldn't talk you into dinner with me, I thought I'd join you instead. I love your choice of swimming attire, by the way." He grinned as he sat down and removed his boots and socks before rising to his feet and reaching for the fastenings on his trousers. She had been so stunned by his sudden actions that she had forgotten about her unclothed state, and realized to her horror that her towel was now at the bottom of the pool, leaving her fully exposed. With a sound that was part gasp and park squeak, Sarah realize that there was no ladder at her end of the pool, and no handy towels or robes nearby either. Hearing a splash behind her, she turned her head to see her pale host gliding silently toward her under the water, emerging a few feet from her with barely a ripple. She was also immediately aware that like her, he wasn't wearing a stitch of clothing.

"Aaahhh" he sighed, shaking his head and sending water spraying everywhere. "Nothing like skinny-dipping to make a body feel good, especially in such pleasant company." Treading water easily, he watched her as she started to pull herself along the side of the pool with her back to him as she eased away, heading toward the steps. "What! Leaving so soon? But I just got here." He swam over to her and put an arm on either side of her, stopping her flight. "Still mad at me for not letting you go, hmmmm?" Silence. He sighed and turned her around to face him, pressing himself closer to her and tipping her chin up to look her in the eyes.. "You might as well talk to me, Sarah….no matter how long you think you can keep up the silent treatment, I'll outlast you. I'll just keep after you until you finally wear down. It would be fun to tease you at first, but frankly would get kinda boring after a while. There are much better ways to spend eternity, don't you think?" He ran a hand along her cheek and smiled as she shivered, and not from the water temperature; then his expression became serious once more.

"Sarah….I'm not the monster you think I am. While it is true that I am capable of violence when necessary, I am capable of great compassion and tenderness as well." His hands swept gently down from her shoulders down her arms to her hands, which now hung limply at her sides. "And in case you've forgotten already, I think its time I remind you that I also happened to be very attracted to you…..in fact, I think it's highly possible that I'm in love with you."

Grasping her hands in his, he suddenly pushed off from the side of the pool, pulling her with him to the center of the deep end, causing her to clutch at him as she fought her panic. He turned her around once more so that her back was to his chest and leaned her back against him, her head resting in the crook of his neck. "Shhhh….don't worry, I won't let you drown….I just want to help you relax a little, that's all. Stop analyzing the situation …just let your senses guide you, and you might even enjoy yourself.." Using his will, he held them steady in the water as he slowly began to run his hands along her arms and down the outside of her thighs, gently soothing away the tension and fear. She took a deep shuddering breath and let her eyes close as she did as he suggested and let her senses take control. The water, which had seemed so icy cold a few minutes earlier, now felt cool and refreshing against her skin, and some of the feeling of bliss she had felt in the hot tub returned as she relaxed slightly in his grasp. He closed his eyes and focused his concentration, and a light breeze swept through the room, bringing with it the heady scent of night blooming jasmine. With a flick of his fingers, the stereo across the room turned itself on, filling the room with the soft strains of "I Could Not Ask For More" by Edwin McCain as they floated in the shimmering water, followed by something soothing by Michael McDonald. Another thought dimmed the overhead lights, leaving the room in darkness but for a few lit candles in nooks and crannies and the softly glowing underwater pool lights. Willy smiled faintly with satisfaction as he looked down at the woman relaxing in his arms; the mood was set for seduction, but he knew she wasn't ready; the memories of the attack were still too raw. He would need to go very slowly and cautiously.

She didn't know how long they had been together in the water…it could have been an hour or more, but time had no meaning. Despite her earlier outrage and fear, she felt her body begin to hum with desire as she floated, weightless and strangely safe in Willy's arms. She arched back against him and uttered a sound that was eerily similar to a purr when his hands moved from her waist to cup her breasts, cupping them possessively and dipping his head and murmuring his appreciation of the bounty filling his hands in her ear. She turned her head to look up at him and met his lips instead.

It was almost as if someone had dropped a plugged in hairdryer into the pool as electricity shot through her, zinging her from head to toe, but in a most pleasant way. The sensation grew in intensity as he turned her until she was cradled in his arms bridal style, one hand gently stroking her breast as the other made lazy circles on the back of her upper thigh. Her hands made their way into his wet silken hair as she allowed herself to savor his tender caresses. She felt as though she could burst into flame at any moment, and his hungry kiss was fanning the sparks of desire that were beginning to glow so near his stroking fingers. They hung there together in the soothing water, drowning in the beauty of skin touching skin.

Breaking their kiss, Willy began pressing soft kisses along her exposed neck as she tilted her head back with a sigh of pleasure, making sure to keep his elongated canines from touching her tender skin. It would have only taken a few moments and she would have been drained to near death and completely his, but unlike many of his race, he was an honorable denizen of the undead and wouldn't turn someone without their consent.

Her eyes swept open slowly and she looked up at him, her eyes soft with desire as she stared into his handsome face, as hungry for him as he was for her. Noting the darkness of the cavern, she blinked with surprise, noticing the changes he had made in the scenery. He quickly spoke to alleviate her fear as he felt her begin to tense up.

"Be at ease, my sweet….I just want to make our surroundings a bit romantic and relaxing." He ran his finger from between her breasts and up under her chin, the candlelight causing flames to dance in his eyes as he looked down at her. "You are beautiful to me, Sarah, and I can't hide the fact that I want you very badly, but I know you need time to get accustomed to me, to what I am. Believe me when I tell you that I won't hurt you, and I'm not going to try and take advantage of you. That's not to say that I won't flirt like crazy and steal kisses from you whenever possible….I am human, after all, or at least I once was. Come, we need to get you dried off…nobody looks good with raisin skin, not even you." He carried her from the pool and stood her on her feet while dried her off, pulling matching robes from the armoire. He grinned faintly as he first towel dried and then finger combed her damp tresses before sweeping her off her feet again. He didn't speak at all as they returned to the bedroom, where he gently laid her into the bed's cozy softness, covering her up before taking up her hand. When he spoke once more, his voice was as tender as his touch.

"As much as I desire you, I'm not going to rush you into my bed, Sarah. I want to earn your trust and yes, your love as well." Leaning down, he captured her lips with a soul-devouring kiss, followed by several little follow up smooches before he laid down on top of the covers beside her and began to stroke her tousled hair.. "After all, I have all the time in the world, my love, all the time in the world."

She didn't reply, but the look in her eyes gave him all the answer he needed as he gently used his powers and eased her into sleep.


End file.
